Ipseity
by YearOfTheKitty
Summary: Lloyd Aurion isn't sure who he is anymore. A simple decision to help leads to a newfound family, and now caught up in a web of lies, his darkest secret is that much harder to keep. Is he really a monster... or an angel? Oyako, Zelloyd, Reena, Gesea.
1. Drifter

**Kitty: My second-longest fic. I consider it All For Naught's twin, because I love them both so much!**

**Zelos: Eh? Why am **_**I**_** your muse?**

**Kitty: You won't show up in this fic for a while yet, so I need to get my Zelos fix somehow.**

**Zelos: I would be flattered, if I knew what in the world you looked like…**

**Kitty: Never telling! Anyway, this one's Zelloyd, but since it follows the storyline of the game they won't meet until the regeneration group goes to Tethe'alla. Try to be patient. The main focus is going to be on Lloyd and his… well, you'll see. Hope you enjoy!**

**Zelos: YearOfTheKitty could never own my beautiful face! I am bound to no woman, especially not one I don't even know is cute… . Oh, yeah, she doesn't own anything else in this fic, either.**

~ ~ ~~ ~ ~

**Chapter One**

**Drifter**

"_And so I hit the ground and I'm still running_

_But I need a place to stay tonight_

_I swear I'll be gone in the morning_

_I just need somewhere warm to close my eyes."_

—_Rise Against, 'Voices Off-Camera'_

It was the kind of sunset that artists wait their entire lives to paint; the kind of sunset that couples swear eternal love to each other under; the kind of sunset that made people pause and reflect on the finiteness of life and the coming of new dawns. From horizon to horizon, the unbroken pane of the sky was a gentle gradient from the shade of lemons to orange-colored, tinted dragon fruit-pink at the horizon, with just a hint of pomegranate red at the edges. Sprinkled across this fantastic canvas were just a few glittering diamonds of early stars. The whole thing was so loud, so vibrant and alive that watchers would inhale deeply, half-expecting to taste the zing of citrus on their tongues.

It was his worst nightmare.

The boy paused on the edge of the cliff and tipped his head back to stare at the enchanting mix of colors smeared across the heavens. He loved sunsets like this, he really did, even though they rarely meant well for him. These types of moments were what kept him going when all seemed lost—what gave him a reason to keep living. After all, what was the point of fighting tooth and nail to survive if there was nothing for him to survive for?

As if to spite him, however, the nights he loved most were often the ones that caused him the most trouble. A clear, beautiful night like this one promised to be gave strangers no incentive to let him into their homes. If it had been raining, perhaps his luck might be better. He had found that he cut quite a pitiable figure when soaked and bedraggled—pitiable enough to warrant a night on some hospitable person's couch to wait out the storm. Snow worked doubly well for that purpose. Even wind could be used in a pinch. Any weather at all was better than calm, lukewarm nights like this one. _Why bother inviting a stranger into our homes?_ people thought on nights like this. _He might be a crazy murderer, or a thief. Even if he isn't, what harm could he come to on a quiet night like this one? No, far better to keep him well away from us; let him spend a nice night among the wonders of nature._

This particular boy had spent far too much of his time among the wonders of nature to have much appreciation left for them anymore. Any earthbound wonders, anyway. The sky, on the other hand… the sky was never the same twice. Every sunset, every dawn, and every day was a new experience of colors and weather and clouds. Nights were comforting in their familiarity, though no less extraordinary for it. The sky was truly the home of his heart. If he could fly, he would never come back down to earth again.

_Except to eat, of course,_ he thought with a sigh, his stomach making noises reminiscent of a dying man's death rattle. Brown eyes dropped from the heavens back to the mortal plane, where he was forced to acknowledge that there was practically no way in Niflheim he was going to find somewhere to sleep that night. Before him spread a lumpy blanket of green treetops, unmoving in the still air. Beyond them, however, he could see signs of a village—curls of smoke and the telltale brown triangles of roof peaks. Perhaps, surrounded by forest as they were, the people of this village would be more open to the idea of sheltering a young man for the night. After all, the woods were full of wild animals, weren't they?

With this hope in mind, the young man crouched down and sprang off the edge of the cliff. He hit the ground on all fours and loped along in this fashion over the carpet of loam. His skilled hands and feet made barely a whisper among the dead leaves, his body twisting gracefully between undergrowth and low branches, so that his passage was as that of a wild animal's. Truthfully, a wild animal was what he looked like when bent over so, bright eyes glinting through a curtain of shaggy brown hair.

When the boy had come close enough to the village to smell the chimney smoke but while he was still far enough away to be screened by the concealing foliage, he paused and stood upright. A few moments were spent brushing away stray leaves and twigs from his ragged clothes, and a few more attempting to subdue his hair into some semblance of order. This was another thing his hands proved skilled at, and within moments he was transformed from wild beast to scruffy traveler. The bright glint in his eyes remained, though it might now be mistaken for the eager eyes of a young man full of youth and energy.

Even so, when the boy stepped out into the village, he got more than a few stares. He winced, his hopes of hospitality slowly fading with each glare and each whisper once he'd passed. He had forgotten what small, isolated towns like this were like. It had been a while since he'd visited one, and even longer since he'd found a soul kind enough to let him spend the night in one.

Still he forged onwards, chocolate eyes flicking from house to house, considering. None seemed quite right, so he didn't bother knocking to ask. After so long, he had an almost instinctual feeling for this. The temple on the hill would probably accept him, but he didn't like to stay in churches unless there was no other option. They made him uneasy, and a man living on his instincts as he was had to learn to trust his feelings. So no churches yet.

There! A brightly-lit house with flowers on the sills and the sound of laughter from within. One of the voices was a young girl's, he could tell. Perfect. Young girls were usually more compassionate, and they were often able to convince their parents to let him stay just one night. The boy mounted the steps—oblivious to the sudden increase in hostile feeling from the watching villagers—and rapped his knuckles softly on the door. While he waited, he considered. The starving-beggar approach, maybe? Or the lost orphan routine? That one had worked only occasionally since he'd hit his growth spurt, so perhaps the wandering adventurer would be a better choice. He hadn't tried that one in quite a while.

As he thought, the door swung open, spilling a pool of light into the rapidly-lengthening shadows on the front step. A young girl with a halo of long blond hair stood framed in the doorway, her wide blue eyes even wider than usual with surprise upon seeing who had knocked. She was a little younger than him, the boy supposed, thought quite a bit shorter. Immediately, a sheepish smile bloomed upon his face. The slightly-embarrassed, apologetic strategy it was, then. As the closest approach to his true personality, this was the easiest for him to act out.

"Um, hello. Hi. Look, I'm really sorry to bother you so late, but I don't suppose you could spare some food? I've been traveling for a while, and I'm all out…" he shifted in affected self-consciousness. Always start with food first—asking for somewhere to sleep right off the bat usually scared them off. Then, if he had chosen good, well-meaning targets, they would ask where he planned to sleep and offer their couch after he'd admitted he had nowhere to go.

The girl's face morphed into a mask of compassion, as perfect as a picture. She even clasped her hands under her chin. The boy hid a smirk of triumph. He had her hook, line, and sinker. The other good part about this approach was that it completely nullified the sting of guilt that usually accompanied his acts, since nothing he'd said so far had been a lie or even really _acting_. He _was_ hungry and tired, and he _was_ out of food.

"Oh, I'm so sorry! You poor thing! Of course you can have some food. Please, come inside," she hastily moved out of the doorway, nearly tripping over her own feet. The boy nodded his thanks and entered after her, courteously closing the door behind him. It was a small house, and the front room apparently doubled as a dining room and kitchen. That would explain why their conversation had been so clearly audible from the street. Seated at the dining room table were an elderly woman and a middle-aged man, both looking staring at him in undisguised astonishment.

"Grandmother, Father, this boy is a traveler on his way through our village. He's tired and hungry. Couldn't we share some of our food with him?" the girl asked, her hands still clasped in an attitude of prayer. The boy really had to struggle to hold back his smile now. He hadn't had to say much at all, and already this girl was embellishing his story for him! He couldn't have picked a better target. He liked her.

"Colette, this is not a good idea," the man frowned, casting a hard look over the boy. The boy's internal smile morphed to a scowl. The spirits' curses on overly-cautious parents. "You don't know anything about him. He might be a thief, or worse."

"But…" the girl, Colette, began.

"No buts," the old lady interrupted. "Your safety is of foremost importance, Colette. I'm sorry, young man. We can give you some food, but you must leave immediately. The temple on the hill will give you refuge if you truly desire it."

"Thank you," the boy smiled gratefully, neither his face nor his tone betraying the irritation simmering beneath the surface of his words. "I'm very grateful." And he was, even though he was irritated.

"I'm sorry we couldn't do more," Colette bowed shortly before turning and gathering together a small loaf of bread, a few slices of meat, and several apples, which she then tied up in a cloth handkerchief and presented to the boy. He accepted it with another murmured thanks, and she returned another murmured apology of unclear origins. Under the mistrustful gazes of the old woman and the younger man, he beamed a big smile, gave a low bow, and strode out of the house with a bounce in his step.

"Be careful!" the girl called out from her kitchen behind him.

Once the door had swung shut behind him and he was off the front step, however, the big smile withered into a furious scowl. Okay, so maybe he looked—no, no maybe. So he looked like a vagrant. He _was_ a vagrant. Still, he hadn't done anything to them. Why did they immediately assume he was 'a thief or worse'? He'd left quietly when they'd told him no hadn't he?

Sometimes, having such a highly-developed sense of right versus wrong was a very difficult thing for someone in his position. A bit like his morals and optimism that way. They were hard things to keep up and got him absolutely no respect among neither his fellow ne'er-do-wells nor the ones upon whose charity his health and well-being depended.

But while he was thinking about them… what had that old lady meant by saying the girl's safety was of foremost importance? She hadn't looked all that special to him—not counting, of course, her uncommon sympathy and willingness to trust, which may or may not have been a good thing in relation to anything else but giving him food. Maybe she was the heir to some money or position or something. Or maybe it was just that he was a teenage guy. Small towns like this were all about propriety, weren't they?

No matter. He sighed heavily and resigned himself to a restless night in the village's temple. At least he'd gotten some bread out of that wreck of a fleecing. Apples and meat there were aplenty in the wilderness, and he wouldn't have survived long if he hadn't been able to forage for them himself. But bread… bread was something manmade, only found in villages, in civilization. It was a luxury, a rare treat for him. Invariably, well-meaning charity-givers would hand out meat and fruit like it was precious gold—and to them, it was far rarer than boring, everyday _bread_, which you could get with a few coins and a short walk to the miller's. They didn't know how lucky they were. A sense of community—everyone working together to support everyone else—was another thing he missed out on living like he did.

The boy paused at the foot of the steps leading up the hill to the temple, tilting his head back and shading his eyes against the dying sun's final glare. Against the red-black sky like this, the structure was naught but a hulking outline, an intimidating, bulky figure like a squatting troll waiting for unsuspecting passerby. Attempting to cast aside his ill feelings, the boy placed one foot on the lowest step.

An abrupt, hard shiver ran up the boy's spine. It tingled from his toes to his fingertips, in the tip of his nose and the pit of his stomach, jarring every bone along the way. The boy immediately spun about and strode firmly away from the temple. He hadn't ever had a premonition that strong. It would be foolish not to heed it, even if he wasn't entirely sure why this temple in particular gave him such a terrible feeling.

The young man made his way down the village's main road—the only road, really—unwilling to go back into the forest just yet. As he walked, he admired the beautifully rustic scene it all made. His hands fumbled with the handkerchief he'd been giving, eventually extracting the small loaf of bread, which he bit into deeply at one end. The loaf hung from his teeth while his hands hastened to retie the small bundle before it crumbled. That done, he continued to munch on his treat whilst observing the village around him. He wished he knew what it was called.

_Do villages post their own names on signposts?_ He wondered idly. _How else would travelers like me know where they are? I mean, not that I can read, but still. If it wasn't posted, how would the villagers know what their own town name was called? People could start making up names they like better than the real one, and then no one would know what it was really called._

_And it's thoughts like these,_ he sighed heavily, _that are the reason you don't have any friends. Dork._

Any further self-abuse on the boy's part was sharply cut off as something small and solid collided with his midsection. The boy went down with a cry, his sloppily-tied handkerchief bursting open as he dropped it on the road, apples scattering in every direction. The young man hit the ground hard, all his breath leaving him as whatever he'd walked into was driven into his stomach by the impact.

"Hey! Watch where you're going!" the something—or someone—began to struggle beneath him. The boy was repeatedly kicked in the gut and ribs as whoever it was wiggled out from underneath him. "Get off of me, will you?"

"Brat…" the young man gasped, regaining some of his breath. He rolled off of whoever it was and rose to his knees, staring sadly at his fallen bread and meat, which were now covered in dust from the road. "That was my dinner!"

"Well, look where you're walking next time," the person retorted. The boy looked up to glare, pausing when he saw who he'd run into. It was a young boy, no more than twelve years old, though he matched the older boy glare for glare. The startling part, though, was his wild mane of white hair, beneath which pointed ears were visible. An elf, then, or a half-elf. Probably the former, otherwise he would have been driven out of the village, no matter what his age was.

"Hey," the elf's face fell slightly as he looked the brunet over. "You're not from Iselia, are you? I've never seen you before."

"That's what this village is called? Iselia?" the boy blinked. "Oh. No, I'm not from around here. I travel around a lot. Among the list of things I don't have are a home, money, a job, and a steady diet." At this last, he cast a pointed look at the food scattered over the ground. "So I'd really appreciate it if you didn't waste what little I have." With that, the boy began to gather up the remnants of his meal. The apples were the most easily salvaged—a quick polish against his shirt and they'd be good as new. The meat was beyond help, though. He didn't bother picking that up. As for the bread…

He eyed the half-loaf in his palm regretfully. He'd have liked to just brush it off and keep eating, but was it safe? Was there some sort of rule about dropped bread? He'd never eaten dusty bread before…

"You aren't seriously going to eat that, are you?" the elf boy's strident, disgusted voice broke through his musing. "Ick! It's all covered in dirt!"

"It's also all I have," the boy glared at him again. The boy wilted a little, realizing how spoiled he must have sounded. At his expression, the brown-haired boy groaned a little and put his hand to his forehead. When he took it away, the glare had been replaced by remorse.

"I'm sorry about that. Another thing on that list of stuff I don't have is self-control. You're right; I should have been paying more attention. It's not your fault," he stood, brushed his knees off, and offered a hand to the still-kneeling boy. The elf accepted it, and was easily hauled to his feet, where he brushed himself off as well.

"I'm… sorry, too," he muttered, a bit sulkily. "Look, if you don't have anything to eat, you can come to my house. My sister and I won't mind sharing. You can even stay the night, since I ruined your meal."

For a brief moment, the boy's elation at his run of good luck warred with his unwillingness to manipulate a child like that. Unfortunately for his morals, the former won out, and he gave a cheerful "Lead the way!"

_Ah, well, there's still the chance his sister will react like that other girl's grandma,_ he shrugged to himself. His sense of decency appeased, his mind was free to wander at its leisure. Which reminded him…

"Hey, um…"

"Genis."

"Right, Genis. Do you know who the blonde girl living in that house over there is?" the boy jerked a thumb over his shoulder. The white-haired elf turned full around so that he was walking backwards ahead of the older boy, the better to gape at him.

"Are you serious? You don't know who Colette Brunel is?"

"Homeless wanderer," the boy reminded him with some irritation. "I'm not exactly up-to-date on who's who in all the backwater villages."

"Yeah, okay, but to not know _Colette_… I mean, most people recognize her name at least, even if they don't know her on sight like us Iselians!" Genis was still amazed.

"Are you ever going to tell me who she is?"

"Oh, right. Colette's the Chosen of Regeneration," Genis finally explained. One eyebrow lifted. "You _do_ know what the Journey of Regeneration is, right?"

"Of course," the boy huffed, somewhat offended. "I'm not deaf. It's all anyone's been talking about since this time last year. I just didn't know her name or hometown. So… she's the Chosen, huh?"

"What, you don't think she can do it?" Genis demanded aggressively. "Cause Colette's my friend, and even though she may seem like a ditz she's really brave and kind and strong. Why are you smiling? You don't think she can do it, don't you?"

"No, no," the boy smiled. He thought of a golden-haloed girl, surrounded by candlelight that paled in comparison to the warmth she radiated from within. He thought of a face full of sympathy for the plight of a complete stranger. He thought of two hands busily wrapping their own meal into a handkerchief and holding it out on open palms. He thought of a small, yet heartfelt smile.

"_Be careful!"_

"I think she'll do great."

~ ~ ~~ ~ ~

"Raine!" Genis shouted, banging through the front door of his home. "I'm back!"

"You live alone with your sister?" the boy asked.

"Yep. Always have." The elf boy led the way through the small kitchen/dining room/front room that seemed common to all Iselian homes up the stairs to the second floor. He poked his head into the first room on the landing, the only one lit from within. "Raine, you in here?"

"Of course. Where else would I be?" the voice surprised the boy. He had expected Genis's sister to be a little closer in age to him than this woman sounded! She had to be in her twenties, at _least_. "Is there something you needed, Genis?"

"Well…" the elf boy scuffed his foot, looking unusually hesitant. "I kinda brought a guest home for dinner. If that's okay?"

"If it's a friend of yours, it's fine with me," the woman, Raine, presumably, said. "Not Colette?"

"No, I just met him," Genis replied. "I'll go start cooking now." The elf boy hurriedly retreated, ushering his new friend back down into the kitchen.

"Whew! That went better than expected," he sighed as he began to remove various cooking implements from a variety of cupboards.

"Is Raine scary?" the boy teased. To his surprise, Genis nodded emphatically.

"She seems like a nice person when you first meet her, but she's a terror when she's mad! And she hits really hard… If she heard I'd bumped into you, she'd knock me to Tethe'alla!" the white-haired boy said, the beginnings of what looked like soup taking form under his nimble hands.

"Ouch. Any chance you'd want to come wander with me?" the boy grinned jokingly.

"No thanks. Raine would hunt me down and drag me home. And my remains would never be found," Genis returned. "Why are you wandering, anyway?"

"I told you," he shrugged. "No home, no money, no parents, no nothing."

"But if you got a job, earned some money, and bought your own home, all that could be fixed," Genis argued. "Except for the parents thing, I mean. Sorry about that."

"I'm over it. But no one will hire me for a job because I look like a drifter," the brunet gestured at his ratty clothes and unkempt hair. "And I can't fix it up without a home or money. So I'm stuck. Besides, I don't know what I'd do with a home and a job and money. All I know is drifting." This statement was punctuated by the crisp crunch as he sank his teeth into an apple, the juice welling up deliciously on his tongue. The skin might have been a little on the dusty side, but the inside was as good as ever.

"Don't eat that now, I'm making soup," Genis admonished him. "Don't you ever think? Now it'll go bad and you won't have it for later."

"They grow on trees, Genis," brown eyes cast an amused glance at the elf. "It's not like they're hard to find."

"Whatever," the white-haired boy snorted. "_SOUP'S READY_!" This last was shouted at such volume that the brunet started violently, knocking his knee on the table and dropping his apple. Genis, hiding a smirk, thumped a wooden bowl and a spoon down in front of him and bustled away to ladle out some more for himself and his sister.

The sister herself appeared moments later, descending the staircase with an annoyed look on her face.

"Genis, do you have to yell like that? I spilled ink all over the paper I was writing!"

"Sorry, Sis," Genis shrugged, unrepentant. The older boy eyed the elf woman curiously. She had the same color hair as Genis, though shorter and swept off to the side in a seagull's wing of bangs. Her eyes were the same icy blue, though, and her ears bore the same point. She wore an odd orange-colored coat.

It took a few moments for the boy to realize that he was being examined in the same way by the woman under his scrutiny.

"Hello, you must be Genis's friend. I am Raine Sage. And you are…?"

"Nix," the boy grinned. "Nice to meet you."

"That's quite an unusual name," Raine commented, taking a seat at the table. "Correct me if I'm wrong, but doesn't it mean… 'nothing'?"

"Yeah," Nix nodded, not bothered at all by the question. "Nix sounds more like a name than Nothing, though, so that's what I call myself. I lost my parents before I can remember—or so I assume, anyway, since I can't remember them—so I don't know what they really named me. So… Nix."

"That's sad," Genis said.

"Nah, I'm okay with it. This soup is really great!" Nix exclaimed, having just taken a nonchalant sip to emphasize how okay with it he was. The brunet dug in with gusto, much to the amusement of Raine and the disgust of Genis.

"So how did the two of you meet?" she asked.

"I bumped into him on my way out of town," Nix said between slurps of soup. "He offered to let me stay the night since wild animals come out in the forest at night. If that's okay with you, that is. Isn't that right, Genis?"

"Oh, yeah," Genis nodded fervently.

"I see," Raine considered for a few moments before reaching over and smacking the back of Genis's head as hard as she could. The younger boy's forehead hit the table with a bang that made the cutlery jump.

"Owowowow! What was that for?" Genis whined once he'd peeled his face from the wood, rubbing the spot gingerly.

"For whatever it is you're not telling me and he's covering for you for," the woman said peaceably, blowing daintily on a spoonful of soup to cool it. "It's fine with me if you stay the night—though I'm afraid all we have is the couch."

"Better than a pile of yew leaves!" Nix said with his usual cheer.

"…Isn't yew poisonous?" Genis gave the boy a sideways look, still rubbing his forehead.

"Sure is. Only when eaten, though, and only to animals. It deters other predators from trying to eat me when I bury myself in it, but it's the most uncomfortable thing ever," the brunet explained.

"That wouldn't work at all!" Genis protested. "They'd have to eat pounds of the stuff to get so much as a stomachache, and they're _animals_! How would they know you're covered in yew leaves and not oak?"

"Hey, who's survived almost a decade in the wilderness all on his own, huh?" Nix flared.

"'Almost' a decade?" Raine repeated.

"Since I started counting. That was nine years ago now, so I know I'm at least nine," Nix grinned.

"You're an idiot," Genis sighed despairingly. "And here I thought I'd found someone cool to hang out with."

"By the time you learn to appreciate me, I'll be long gone," Nix winked one brown eye and took an obnoxiously long, loud slurp of soup. Genis groaned and rolled his eyes to the ceiling.

"Where do you plan on going next, then? And what brings you to Iselia in the first place?" Raine persisted in making small talk, unreasonably interested in the boy's life. Nix sighed, but submitted to the questioning. Charity-givers often showered him with questions like this—questions they undoubtedly asked everyone they helped out and forgot by the next morning. Like his sheepish act, this verbal obstacle course required only a minimum of deception, since the majority of his past was an open book. There was just that one thing…

But he didn't talk about that.

"I never plan where I go. Life's more fun when it's surprising," Nix grinned. "One time I got lost in only a few square miles of forest because I refused to walk in a straight line."

"I'm finding that easer to believe by the minute," Genis said.

"Otherwise traveling gets really, really boring after only a few days," the wanderer continued as if he hadn't spoken. "So nothing really brought me into Iselia, either."

"I see," Raine said again. "Well you certainly chose a convenient time to visit. We're expecting the Oracle any day now."

"Really?" Nix blinked. "Well, I'll be long gone by then. No offense to the two of you—you're some of the nicest people I've met—but people in this town aren't exactly welcoming of strangers."

"There's Dirk," Genis offered. "He's a dwarf who lives on the outskirts of town. The villagers mostly trust him, even though he's a dwarf." The elf boy suddenly brightened. "Hey, you should go ask him for a weapon! You keep traveling unarmed like that and you'll be killed in no time."

"I've managed up till now," Nix mumbled, not meeting his gaze.

"Hmm…"

"What is it, Sis?" Genis quirked an eyebrow at his sister, who had begun humming absentmindedly into her soup.

"Hmm, oh? What?" she looked up blankly, clearly broken from her thoughts. "Oh. I was just trying to remember something. It's nothing important."

"If you say so…"

"You know what I say?" Nix broke in. Without waiting for an answer, he shoved his bowl in Genis's face and grinned hopefully. "'Seconds'!"

The rest of the Sage siblings' dinner conversation was underscored by the sound of frantic slurping from Nix's side of the table. It wasn't a very long meal, as neither could resist the twiggy boy third and even fourth helpings, leaving them to pick at their own bowls and feel guilty for not being all that hungry. Finally, after several minutes of eating—Genis wondered idly if the boy was so skinny because he burned more calories than he took in when he ate like that—Nix bounced up from the table with the announcement that he would be doing the dishes. Raine tried to object, but her politeness was nothing before the storm of Nix's sense of responsibility and it wasn't long before the boy was up to his elbows in dishwater, industriously scrubbing at a pot that Genis swore was cleaner than the hands washing it.

_At least his forearms will get a bath,_ the elf boy sighed in exasperation and smiled slightly, shaking his head. He liked this odd, straightforward human, even if he was on the slow side.

That night, Nix slept soundly on the Sages' couch, sprawled out on his back and snoring fit to wake the dead. Moonlight spilled in through cracks in the shutters, turning the scrunched-up blanket spread across his midsection into a waterfall of silver-highlighted folds. It seeped into the kitchen, gilding a stack of bowls in the sink that were already all but glittering with their immaculate cleanliness. Beads of shining mercury dripped slowly from the tip of an out-flung arm (which seemed to be sheathed in elbow-length gloves, so much lighter was the color of the skin from there down) to form a small pool of quicksilver on the rough wood floors.

Over the sleeping village of Iselia, a single wavering note soared like a moonlit bird, darting up and down frantically as the wolf called out a clear message:

_Where are you?_


	2. Con Artist

**Kitty: Yay! A review! –happydance-**

**Zelos: Your other fic got over a hundred and fifty.**

**Kitty: Not all at once; that thing's been up for almost two years! Thank you very much, for your review accident prone! This update is for you!**

**Zelos: Also, it may seem a little obvious, but just in case YearOfTheKitty wants me to point out that Nix is not an OC. You'll see what she means. She also does not own Tales of Symphonia or any characters or plot from it. Kay?**

**Kitty: Enjoy!**

~ ~ ~~ ~ ~

**Chapter Two**

**Con Artist**

"_We are the long-forgotten sons_

_And daughters that don't belong to anyone_

_We are alone under this sun_

_We work to fix the work that you've undone."_

—_Rise Against, 'Long-Forgotten Sons'_

Nix woke the next morning to the sound of shouting. The voices were faint and muffled, coming from somewhere outside, but were nonetheless loud enough to yank the young man's mind out of the dream he'd been having. The tip of his nose twitched a few times before his mouth gaped open in a yawn so wide that it made his eyes water, tears pooling beneath shut eyelids. One two-toned arm stretched towards the ceiling while the other elbow extended out to the side, cracking both Nix's spine and his elbow joints. Finally, the boy sat up fully, opening dark eyes to survey his surroundings.

The house was pretty much exactly as it had been the night before, with the exception of the bright sunlight now streaming in through open shutters. The sky, he saw, was a beautiful, smooth blue today—so silky-looking that he longed to reach up and run it through his fingers. Few clouds dotted the sky, though those that did resembled fat sheep more than they did clouds. The sun was a gentle giant in the exact center of the cerulean satin expanse.

_Wait a minute…_ Nix frowned. _It's… midday…?_

_Crap!_

The boy sprang off the couch, dumping the little-used blanket to the floor in his haste as he thundered into the kitchen. No one was there. No one came to see what all the noise was about. Most incriminatingly, there were new dishes piled beside the sink, clear evidence of a quick breakfast.

"They already left," Nix groaned, slumping. What kind of drifter was he? He was supposed to be gone in the morning, before the residents had a chance to wake up! That way, awkward situations like breakfast and work were avoided, and it was altogether less trouble for everyone involved. The Sages, though, appeared to have no qualms about leaving a strange teenager in their home while they were away. Proof of this was the note Nix found on the kitchen table, clearly meant for him. Dirt brown eyes squinted at the marks as their owner laboriously plodded his way through the short missive. Reading was not one of his stronger suits.

_Nix,_ the message read. _Sorry for leaving you alone like this. Raine and I have to get to school now, though. You can take some bread for breakfast if you're hungry. If you stay, I'll introduce you to Colette (properly this time!) when I get back. We could see Dirk about those weapons, too. So stick around, okay? Signed, Genis. P.S. You better not steal anything!_

Nix smiled as he worked his way through the postscript. He could just imagine the younger elf, mock-stern, fists propped on his hips as he said that. It sounded like he really wanted to be friends. Nix certainly couldn't ask for a better friend than Genis—who would trust someone like him so quickly—or even Colette—who told half-truths for strangers, and whose best friend had admitted she could be ditzy. Even Raine Sage, nosy and uptight as she seemed, could grow to be a good friend if he stayed long enough.

It was a real shame, then, that he wasn't staying.

The note fluttered down to the table as Nix wandered away. He went to the couch and folded the dropped blanket almost dazedly, setting it on the cushion as if it were a live thing to be handled with care. That done, he went back to the kitchen and stared unseeingly at the table for a few moments while his stomach and conscience had a knock-down, drag-out fight in the back alleys of his mind. His stomach proudly hoisted the champion's belt, and Nix threw open the cupboards in search of bread. He found a few loaves that were beginning to go stale, and took a few pieces from them.

His breakfast successfully stolen—_No, not stolen, Genis said I could have it. It was a gift_—the young man closed the cupboards and strode purposefully out of the kitchen and through the front door. Thankfully, there weren't many Iselians out on the streets (street) at that moment, so the number of odd stares he got was kept to a minimum.

Once the Sages' door was shut behind him, Nix hesitated. Genis's words niggled at the back of his mind. Of course, he didn't need a weapon. He had been holding his own against monsters and bandits for upwards of nine years now, and he had yet to feel the need for any more weapons than his mouth (of course, he was a master of deception, and had talked his way out of more fights than many people had said 'hello') and his own four limbs. Still, Genis had seemed genuinely worried about him, and he didn't want to upset his new friend any more than he already had. So… a trip to Dirk's was in order.

Nix vaguely remembered passing a side-road on his journey from the cliffs to Iselia, not far from the complex he knew to be the human ranch. That had to be Dirk's house. Destination in mind, the young man popped a piece of bread into his mouth and turned towards his goal, ignoring the villagers around him.

Unfortunately, his route out of the village took him directly past the schoolhouse. The boy hurried forward, practically running past the building, from which he could hear Raine's clear voice issuing. As he darted past the windows, Nix caught a glimpse of a mane of white hair, thankfully turned away from him. He didn't want to face Genis's face when the elf saw that he was leaving.

Really, he had no other choice. What could he do, freeload off the Sages for the rest of his life? Live in the woods and come to visit every day? He'd be picked up by the Desians within the week, if the animals didn't get him first. There was no chance of getting a job in such a conservative town, either. All that was left was leaving, though he resolved to come back and visit every now and then.

_Speaking of which, I should get moving back to Palmacosta,_ Nix thought, looking up at the satiny sky, his arms thrown back behind his head as he walked. _If I walk quickly, I should make it before spring ends and all the tourists go back home._ Tourists were easy pickings for his pickpocketing skills, as well as gullible and easily duped into donating money for a service that would never be performed.

After several minutes of walking, Nix came to the side-road he had seen before. This time he took it, finding it to be less of a road and more of a worn path wending between the trees to a largish clearing. In the center of this clearing squatted a mossy, two-level house with a forge attached to the side. A butterfly weaved drunkenly through the air, but otherwise there was no sign of life.

Nix shrugged, figuring Dirk must get a later start than the villagers, and began towards the front porch, meaning to knock once and leave if no one was home, so that both Genis and his conscience would be appeased. On his way across the lawn, however, something on the side of the house opposite the forge caught his eye. He moved closer, curious.

It was a grave, he saw. A square block of gray stone with a patch of lilac flowers growing in front of it. He drifted even closer, squinting at the words. Even for him, they were not hard to puzzle out:

ANNA AND LLOYD

_Maybe Dirk had a wife and kid taken the by Desians?_ Nix scratched his head thoughtfully. Lloyd. He liked that name. It had a ring of familiarity about it. Had he known someone named Lloyd? Possibly. He met a lot of people in his line of 'work' and Lloyd wasn't all that uncommon a name. (Unlike Nix. He liked his name—liked it for its uniqueness and the sound it made in his mouth. He wouldn't have picked a name he didn't like, after all, not knowing he'd have to go through life answering to it.)

"Can I help ye, young man?" a thick, deep voice brought Nix out of his thoughts and whirling around. His eyes darted left, then right before finally dropping. There, before him, stood a dwarf. He'd seen dwarves before, but not many. This one was the youngest he'd seen yet, his beard and hair still a vibrant red, though his leathery skin was crossed with many creases. "Interested in a job, or just the grave?"

"Uh, yeah, sorry about that," Nix apologized. "I just was curious because I saw the flowers… But, uh, you're Dirk, right?"

"Aye," the dwarf nodded.

"My name's Nix. I was wondering how long it might take—and how much it might cost—for you to make me a weapon," the boy said, eyes hardening.

"Well, that's a mighty vague request," Dirk commented, scratching his chin. "It depends on what kind o' weapon ye be wanting."

"Not a sword or axe or anything big," Nix specified. He waved his hands around vaguely, not quite sure himself what he was getting at. "Just something small… like a knife I can strap to my arm or something."

"I see," Dirk said. "Small an' easy to carry. Well, something like that'd only take a day or two, and it'd only cost a few hundred gald."

"A few _hundred_ gald?" Nix repeated, floored.

"Aye. Steel may not be as expensive as gold, but it's still not cheap, either."

"I see," it was Nix's turn to say, slumping over slightly. "Thank you for your time, but I just can't afford that right now. It was nice talking with you." The young man turned and began to walk away.

"Wait just a moment, boy. Judging by your clothes, you're a drifter, am I right?" Dirk forestalled him.

"Yeah," Nix turned back, curious. "Why?"

"How long ye been wandering?"

"As long as I can remember. I have no parents. I'm somewhere in my later teens, I think," Nix chanted off the list of usual queries' answers mechanically. "Why do you want to know?"

"Just thinking…" Dirk chewed a corner of his beard thoughtfully for a moment before speaking again. "Ye say ye never knew yer parents?"

"Yeah, so?"

"This boy," Dirk moved to the grave and lay a hand on the headstone, "Lloyd here, he woulda been about yer age by now."

"So _what_?" Nix was getting frustrated.

"So, his body was never found," Dirk looked the startled boy square in the face. "I've got a good memory for faces, and the woman buried here, Anna, looked just like you. Same eyes and everything. Even the same hair color. She fell off a cliff near here—I found her bleeding to death in the woods. She was frantic, clawing at the ground and looking for her son. Said he'd fallen with her, but now she couldn't find him. I searched for days, but I never found him, either. Just before she died, she told me her name and the name of her son. I figured the wolves'd gotten him and put his name on here, too."

"But now you think…" Nix worked it out slowly, "…that _I'm_ this… Lloyd…?"

"Aye," Dirk said solemnly.

"But how could we tell?" Nix spread his hands in frustration. "I don't remember that far back—I must have been a toddler, if it was me at all! We can't be sure just because I look kind of like someone you briefly met years ago."

"Well…" the beard was chewed once more. "She also said something about an Exsphere… a blue one she had. I never found that, either. Ye wouldn't happen to have a blue Exsphere under those gloves o' yers, would ye?"

Nix's left hand went immediately to cover his right. His gloves were thin and didn't offer much protection from anything anyway, being fingerless. Still he never went anywhere without them, and they were one of the better-kept items of clothing on his person.

"No," he shook his head. "I don't have a blue Exsphere in my hand, but… I used to have one."

"And ye took it off? I hope ye had a key-crest at least, or ye're a living miracle," Dirk shook his head slowly.

"Nah, it was never attached to me. I kept it as a keepsake for the longest time since I'd had it as long as I can remember, but I sold it a few years ago," Nix felt the sudden urge to sit down, right in the middle of Dirk's front lawn. After a few moments of fighting trembling knees, he did. "I'm… Lloyd…?"

"Looks like it," Dirk affirmed gruffly. "I'm sorry, lad."

"Why…?" Nix looked up sharply. "Why in Mithos's name are you _sorry_? This is great!" The boy leaped to his feet with a whoop. "It's more than I've known about myself for… however long I've been alive! I've got a name, I've got my mom's name and how she died, I've even got a family heirloom!"

"That ye sold."

"I can get it back," Nix said happily. "It's not like I sold it to the Desians." He sobered a little and took a step forward. "Thank you, Dirk. This is even better than a weapon—this is better than _bread_. I can't think of how to thank you."

"No need fer that," Dirk waved his gratitude away. "I was just here to put the pieces t'gether."

"Still," Nix beamed. "You wouldn't happen to have caught a surname, would you?"

"No. She only said 'Anna' and 'Lloyd'."

"Oh, well. I'll still be Nix, at least," the boy tried out his new name, two syllables that fell from his lips like gold coins into a beggar's cup. "Lloyd Nix."

"Will I be seeing ye around Iselia now, Lloyd?" Dirk asked. Lloyd couldn't help but grin at hearing his new name.

"Sorry, but I've got to move on now," he grinned apologetically. "I'll be…"

But what he would be, Dirk never found out. At that moment, there was a bright flash of light that reeled across Lloyd's vision like a million tiny stars, obscuring all vision. After a few seconds, the white stars turned to black spots, and the forest was back in sight. Lloyd spun around in confusion, but saw nothing. Until, that is, he looked up.

Lloyd's mouth dropped open. A white beam of light cut across the satin sky like a tear in the fabric, leading up from the roof of the temple that had given him such a bad feeling the other night. Dirk regarded the light with more resignation than his awed companion.

"That's the Oracle," he sighed heavily. "Young Miss Colette'll be on her way to the temple now to start the Journey of Regeneration. Time goes by so quickly… only the other day she was just a little mite."

"Well, I wish her the best of luck," Lloyd shrugged. It didn't have much to do with him, aside from the light marring the perfection of his beloved sky. Then, idly curious, "She doesn't look like much of a fighter, though. Is she going alone?"

"The village schoolteacher, Raine Sage's been fighting to go with her for a while," Dirk replied. "Said she doesn't want the poor girl to go out with all those priests and no friends. Of course, Genis is determined to go, too, but I doubt they'll let him even if they let his sister."

"Really, now?" Lloyd's interest was piqued. Maybe this was a way he could repay the elder Sage for all she had done for him… and maybe lessen the guilt he felt over leaving Genis without saying goodbye. Though there was still the matter of his trip to Palmacosta… "Please, do you know where the Journey will take them first?"

"Eh? No more than the next person. All I know is that she'll go to all three seals and release 'em. I don't know anything about where," Dirk shrugged.

"I see. Thanks again, so much! It was nice meeting you!" Lloyd said as he began to back away, turning and sprinting out of the clearing when he'd finished. Dirk's shouted goodbye fell on deaf ears as his mind whirred, figuring advantages and disadvantages. He'd already missed the bulk of tourist season anyway, so where was the hurry?

_I'll help Raine out,_ he decided. _Just until the first seal, though. Then I've really got to get to Palmacosta, before they start to think I'm dead._

The boy blasted through the village at top speed, oblivious to all around him. He didn't even bother worrying about passing the schoolhouse—it wouldn't matter if Genis saw him or not in a few minutes. The boy ran as fast as he could for the other end of the village—the one nearest the woods, not the hill with the temple.

As he bounded out of the village's main gate, a single man caught Lloyd's eye. He was just coming into the village, both of them reaching the gate at the same time. For a split second, time seemed to freeze as Lloyd's brown gaze met the red gaze of the tall stranger. His hair was the same style as Lloyd's: long and shaggy, half-in his face, though this man's locks were red instead of brown. He wore an outlandish outfit of purple, with a long sword belted at his waist. Had Lloyd not been in such a hurry, he would have pickpocketed the man in a heartbeat, just to teach him a lesson about ostentatious clothing that served no practical purpose.

But then the moment was gone, and Lloyd was charging full-tilt into the woods, leaving the man to make his way to wherever it was he was going in the village.

He plunged into the cool green shade with some relief. It only took a few strides to take him far enough from the edge so as to be completely concealed from any passerby, though the road was only yards away. Lloyd paused, took a deep breath, and whipped the glove off his right hand.

He didn't have a blue Exsphere, he had told Dirk—which was perfectly true. The dwarf had never said anything about a _white_ Exsphere. The gem glittered in the back of his hand like an orb of clear ice, or glass, with inner facets that made it throw off sparks of rainbow light in the sun. On two sides of the round object, two bars of gold wrapped around the edges. From these bars ran a band of gold that circled around the underside of Lloyd's wrist, forming a kind of half-bracelet—or a full one, if the Exsphere were viewed as a pendant.

Frowning, Lloyd placed his left palm over the jewel, hiding it. He shut his eyes and concentrated his mana, letting all of it flow to his hands and then into the diamondlike gem. The effect was as immediate as it was dreadfully familiar.

With a grunt, the young man fell to his knees in the loam, clutching his chest. It always started out this way… and continued on this way, too. The pain shot down each limb like little jolts of lightning, tearing through him like the Oracle had torn through the sky. Glints of rainbow light danced up and down his skin and flashed in his eyes. His teeth, when he opened his mouth to cry out in pain, were as luminescent as pearls.

The light and rainbows and electricity suddenly all condensed into a single point. Later, Lloyd always wondered if at that moment he too shrank down to the size of a grain of sand before reforming. It was impossible to tell through the blinding pain and dazzling light.

Then, with a slight rush of displaced air, Lloyd reformed. The pain bled out, and the electricity migrated back to the innocent-looking Exsphere on his hand. The young man climbed to his feet and shook his head dazedly, reorienting himself. It was always odd after a long stint away to see things from this angle again, and re-mastering his enhanced senses was a chore.

The world was like a piece of cloth left out in the sun for far too long. Everything had been faded to a pale imitation of what it had once been. The greens of the plants and the browns of the earth had faded to obscurity, while the sky and the sun stood out in sharp relief. The small leaves blurred into one larger mass, though the flickers of movement that ran through each one was individually pinpointed.

Lloyd lifted his head and sniffed the air twice, sifting through the irrelevant scents of plants and animals to wind blowing down from the hilltop temple. It smelled like… blood. Lloyd's lip curled and he sneezed once before setting off in the direction of the temple, sticking to the forest instead of cutting back through the village. His paws thudded silently to the ground one after the other, his coat snagging on stray twigs and burrs. His ears pricked forward for any warnings of danger, and his tail stuck out straight behind him, his body as tense as a bowstring.

Lloyd was a wolf.

Wolf-Lloyd bounded through the trees agilely, finally coming to a stop as the ground began to slope. It was too steep for even his quadruped body to navigate. With a disgruntled yap, he turned away and trotted around the base of the hill to the humans' steps. Here he found one source of the blood-smell: a dead priest, lying at the foot of the stairs with blood soaking the earth around him. The ground here smelled of two young people, both vaguely familiar to Lloyd. Now he could hear the sounds of a struggle from the temple, and more blood saturated the air.

Every hair on Lloyd's body bristled outwards, and his lips folded into a fierce snarl. Just as he had gathered himself to spring up the steps and tear apart whoever dared spill blood in _his_ territory, a sound behind him stopped him. The wolf whirled around, still growling, to face this new threat.

His snarls paused as he blinked, shocked. It was the same man from the gate, now on his way to the temple. Was he on the Iselians' side, or the other one? Lloyd couldn't tell, and he had no time to waste. The man's hand dropped to his sword at the sight of the bristling beast before him, but Lloyd had already made up his mind. This man was a secondary threat, and there was no use fighting him here. This in mind, Lloyd turned and raced up the stairs as quickly as he could, becoming a streak of brown and white fur. He could hear the man following—to attack or ignore, he couldn't tell.

In a matter of moments, Lloyd had reached the plateau before the temple, where the sounds of battle were loudest. He hesitated only a fraction of a second at the top, taking in the tableau with a sweep of red eyes. Two small figures—Colette and Genis, his human mind told him—faced off against a giant hulk of a man with a mace and chain. Around them were littered the bodies of both Desian and priest. The children were exhausted and covered in small wounds, clearly no match for the ogre about to pound them into the plateau.

Lloyd's forward momentum carried him into a flying leap over the heads of the young ones, his leading paws striking the ogre-man in the sternum, his claws digging in. The man staggered backwards as upwards of two hundred pounds of canine slammed into his chest. The wolf's head lunged forward like a snake, teeth tearing deeply into the man's throat. There was a jarring impact as they both hit the ground, Lloyd using the jostling to worry at the throat in his teeth. Blood welled up, warm and tangy on his tongue, soaking between his teeth and into the fur on his muzzle and chin. When he was sure that the man beneath him was well and truly dead, the wolf raised his head to check on the state of Genis and Colette—and also to make sure neither of them took it into their heads to kill him while he was preoccupied.

They seemed unharmed for the most part, Genis casting First Aid to heal up most of their wounds. They eyed Lloyd apprehensively, but made no move to attack him. Both children flinched when he hopped off the Desian's corpse and turned towards them. Lloyd took a single step forward.

Suddenly, there was something that Lloyd could only describe as a whirlwind between him and the Chosen. The canine dodged backwards, though a few minor scratches appeared on his shoulders and muzzle. The whirlwind resolved itself into a redheaded, purple-clad man with a long sword and eyes as hard as bloodstones, standing protectively between the wolf and the children. (And here Lloyd was forced to call upon his memory to tell him that both the man's hair and eyes were red, as they currently appeared to be the same shade as the trees of the forest below and behind him.)

"W-wait!" Colette lurched forward, latching onto the man's sleeve before he could attack Lloyd again. "Please! Don't hurt it!"

"Chosen…" the man began.

"Colette, it's a wild animal!" Genis argued before the older one could continue. "It just killed that man in front of us!"

"Yes, it did," Colette said insistently. "It _saved_ us. Didn't you see? It went right over our heads."

"…You're right," Genis muttered, crossing his arms and frowning. "It should have gone for the smaller, weaker ones—us."

"It's our friend," Colette concluded hopefully. On cue, Lloyd let out a soft bark and spanked his front paws on the floor, tail wagging happily. After a moment of consideration, he even rolled over onto his back, showing his white underbelly, still whining and wagging. He wasn't sure what he looked like with blood still coating his teeth and muzzle, but it had the desired effect. Colette giggled and clapped her hands in delight, while Genis smothered a smile behind his hand.

The man with the sword—the one Lloyd was really trying to convince—hesitated a moment more before sheathing his sword with a sigh, submitting to the Chosen's will. Lloyd flipped onto his four feet again and, keeping his belly to the ground, began a slow crawl towards Genis, his tail more subdued now. The red-haired man watched him warily, but didn't draw his sword again. Genis bent down and held out a hand, looking very nervous but determined. Lloyd made a show of sniffing the hand, whined once, and licked it briefly. Genis giggled and tentatively began to scratch the wolf's ears. Lloyd's tongue lolled out in bliss, his tail going crazy. Colette soon joined in as well, and Lloyd was sent to nirvana despite the presence of the wary man nearby.

"Colette…" both children's hands stilled as they turned towards the source of the voice. Lloyd lifted his lip slightly, showing a single fang in his distaste. It was the old woman—Colette's grandmother—who had refused to let him stay the night. Knowing that Colette was the Chosen made it a bit more understandable, but it was still a pretty cold thing to do. Not that Lloyd had never been turned away in his life. Quite the contrary. But no matter how many times it happened, he imagined himself in a warm, dry home with plenty of food in the cupboard, facing a beggar boy who didn't look as if he could fight off a rat much less a well-fed man with tableware and other household implements capable of acting as weapons in a time of need at his disposal. He just couldn't imagine turning that boy away. Then again, that was his infamous idealism resurfacing, wasn't it? …What a pain.

"Grandmother!" Colette rushed forward, coming to a stop just shy of the woman. Lloyd expected the girl to hug her or show some other sign of affection, but all that happened was Colette's hands coming up to clasp before her in a quickly-becoming-familiar posture. "Are you all right?"

"I am fine," the old woman offered a slight smile to her granddaughter before focusing on the red-haired man behind them and the brown-white wolf beside him. "As for you, how can I ever thank you for saving the Chosen?"

"It was not me," the man said pensively, casting a brief look at Lloyd. "I regret that I did not come sooner, however, if this girl is indeed the Chosen."

"Oh, yeah!" Colette's face fell slightly as she remembered something. "I have to go accept the Oracle! Grandmother, I'm going to undergo the trial now." She turned towards the temple entrance, her face and posture indicating a clear resolve. Lloyd shifted on his haunches. He knew he'd told himself he was only doing this to help out Genis—not Colette—but it seemed wrong to let her go into that place alone if he could help it. It wasn't like they could stop him. And besides, now that the adrenaline from the 'fight' had worn off, the fur all up and down his spine was fluffing out with the bad feeling emanating from the building before him.

"An evil presence radiates from this chapel," the redheaded man murmured to himself, too lowly for anyone but the wolf to hear. He perked up a little, reassured that he was not imagining things.

"All by yourself?" Genis demanded, taking a step forward to stop Colette.

"The priests that were to accompany her fell at the hands of the Desians," the old woman admitted reluctantly.

"I'll go, then," Genis offered bravely. Lloyd's nose twitched, scenting just a hint of fear on the air. The elf boy was afraid, but still offering to go with her? His estimation of Genis increased twofold.

"Genis? …I would be uneasy with just you," Colette's grandmother eyed the boy uneasily.

"I am a mercenary," the purple-clothed swordsman put in suddenly. "My name is Kratos. As long as you can pay me, I'll accept the job of guarding the Chosen."

"…Under the circumstances, I have little choice," the old priestess sighed. "Please be of service."

"It's a deal, then," Kratos said.

"I… I'll just… wait here for you, then, okay?" Genis muttered unsurely, wavering between going with his friend and staying where it was safe. Lloyd decided a little help with that decision would not go amiss. He really wanted to help Colette, but at the same time he didn't want to leave Genis alone, especially if there were Desians around. The wolf leaned down and took the hem of the white-haired boy's jacket in his teeth, planting his paws and tugging in the direction of the temple.

"H-hey!" Genis yelped, his hands flying up but not quite daring to slap away Lloyd's muzzle as he clearly longed to do. "Let go of me!"

"I think he wants you to come," Colette suggested timidly.

"Fine, I'll go," Genis decided. Lloyd released his jacket and pranced ahead to where the Chosen and the mercenary stood, looking over his shoulder to make sure his charge was following. He was.

"I'm not sure bringing that wolf is a good idea," Colette's grandmother fretted. "It's a wild animal, even if it did save you, Colette." Lloyd tossed his head in irritation. Hadn't he established that he was on their side yet?

"He seems friendly enough," Genis murmured, cautiously laying a hand on the wolf's furry shoulders. Lloyd quieted under the touch, doing his best to exude the image of a well-trained, obedient dog. The blood probably didn't help that image, but he did his best anyway, and Colette's grandmother looked marginally reassured.

"This isn't a field trip," Kratos muttered, but didn't argue the point. With one mind, the group of four turned and strode purposefully into the chapel. Lloyd tuned the humans (and elf) out as they held a brief discussion on the probable presence of monsters in favor of keeping his guard up in case those monsters actually appeared. He circled the group continuously—which seemed to put Kratos a bit on edge—like a sheepdog guarding his flock, eyes and ears in constant motion. Occasionally, he would bound ahead to check that the halls were clear before racing back to his 'flock'.

Soon, the group came to a room that held a glowing pedestal at the far end. A Golem appeared, and the three bipeds sprang into action. Lloyd hovered on the fringes as they fought, frustrated beyond words. Here he was with the sole purpose of protecting Genis, and what happened to him the first time they met a monster? He couldn't fight! Some guardian he was. The fact that his teeth and claws would have no effect on the Golem—the reason he was holding back—did little to console his wounded pride.

There followed a period of fighting as several more Golems made their appearance, during which Colette, Genis, and Kratos fought while Lloyd looked on helplessly. He was at least useful in shoving the defeated Golem-blocks into position so that they made a walkway to the glowing pedestal that had so caught the humans' (and elf's) attention.

When they had finally reached it, Colette identified the glowing object atop the pedestal as the Sorcerer's Ring, an ancient artifact of the Church of Martel. Lloyd's downtrodden spirits lifted at that. An ancient magic artifact? He couldn't wait to see what it did! Maybe it called down lightning, or turned the wearer invisible, or something else awesome and magical. He bounced in excited circles as the group made their way back to the temple's foyer, unable to sit still.

In the foyer, they approached the door that they had found to be sealed upon their first attempt through it. Lloyd watched raptly as Genis placed the ring on his finger and extended his fist towards the door.

The door opened.

Lloyd's ears and tail drooped, his shoulders slumping. Was that _it_? That was… so boring. So un-magical. Where was the boom, the smoke, the lights, the _sorcery_? He shook his head and padded despondently forward, looking up just in time to meet Kratos's eyes. The mercenary had been looking at him. Lloyd frowned internally. He'd have to be a bit more careful—act more doglike and less like a transformed human, that is—with this man around. There was no way he'd guess what was really going on, or be able to recognize him, but even knowing that _something_ was up might be enough to earn himself a place of honor in Kratos's home—as a stuffed decoration.

Beyond the once-sealed door was a teleporter. One by one, the four assorted beings stepped onto its glowing surface to be whisked away, seemingly into thin air. Lloyd's paws tingled as they came in contact with it, and his stomach lurched suddenly as he was yanked from one place to another in the blink of an eye. Red eyes blinked dazedly as the wolf stepped from the teleporter and moved to Genis's side. The three others stood before a stone altar in what appeared to the top of a tower.

"This appears to be the top floor," Kratos noted, unnecessarily.

"Yes. That's the altar," Colette confirmed, just as unnecessarily.

"That must be the Cruxis crystal," Genis said, a bit more relevantly, pointing out a shining item on the altar.

"That's right. They say I was born with that in my hand," Colette smiled. Lloyd barked in surprise as, a moment later, a bright light flared to life near the tower's ceiling. White feathers spun out from the light, and the brilliance resolved itself into a man clad in flowing robes that were either red or green with magnificent white wings that flapped slowly.

A sudden chill slithered its way down Lloyd's spine, causing him to shiver and his fur to stand on end. It was a far more concentrated form of the uneasiness he had felt ever since he had first set foot near the temple. Was it… mana…? He had always expected mana, as the source of all life, to feel more pleasant… Maybe it was because he, himself, was an abomination, his mana as twisted as his body? It was a depressing thought, and not one he liked to dwell on.

"An angel," his elf friend was saying, sounding awed. "So is that Colette's real father?" Lloyd glanced between the elf and the angel sharply. The winged man certainly had the same blond hair and blue eyes as Colette (even his wolf-eyes could tell that much), but beyond that there was not much resemblance. What had given Genis the idea they were related?

"I am Remiel. I am an angel of judgment," the robed being declared solemnly. "I am here to guide Colette, daughter of the mana lineage, on her journey to heaven as the seventh Chosen." Remiel descended a bit, the better to look Colette squarely in the eyes, letting the full impact of his next words take hold. "The time has come to awaken the Goddess Martel, who sleeps at the center of the world."

"Awaken the goddess Martel… It's just like the legend Raine told us about," Genis whispered.

At that moment, there was yet another flash of light. This one was smaller, and originated at Colette's collarbone. When it had dissipated, Lloyd sucked in his breath. What looked to be a red or green, diamond-shaped Exsphere nestled in traceries of gold that formed a filigreed necklace around the Chosen's throat. It gave off a feeling very similar to the one on his paw—which, he abruptly realized, was fully visible and had been ever since he'd gone wolf (he had no idea where his clothes went when he was a wolf, though he was grateful that wherever they went, they always came back). He violently squashed down the urge to glance down and see how conspicuous it was, knowing full well that that would only alert the observant Kratos to its presence, which the man had apparently overlooked up till this point.

"From this moment, Colette becomes the Chosen of Regeneration," Remiel announced while Colette and Genis both examined her new necklace. "We of Cruxis bless this event, and hereby bestow the Tower of Salvation upon Sylvarant." He gestured with one arm that dripped green (or red) velvet like Spanish moss at the window. There was a rumbling noise, and a slight tremor ran through the floor. Lloyd couldn't help it this time—his head snapped towards the window along with Colette's, Genis's, and Kratos's (who was luckily so preoccupied with the view that he did not notice this lapse in doglike behavior).

In the distance, where the sky met the hills in a smudge like smeared paint, something was happening. A thin, black line, no thicker than one of Genis's fingers rose from the ground, piercing through the clouds and continuing upwards until it was lost in the vast vault of the sky. The Tower of Salvation.

By the time Remiel had begun to speak again, drawing the attention of the two humans and elf, Lloyd's eyes were safely averted from the window, staring in an innocent doggish way at the flapping wings, his tail swishing slowly.

"Colette, the Chosen of Regeneration. Unlock the seals that guard the Tower of Salvation and climb its stairs to heaven in distant lands."

"I humbly accept this task," Colette said, bowing her head over her clasped hands.

"Very good," Remiel's voice was approving. "We of Cruxis shall grant you the power of the angels with each seal you unlock. Once you are reborn as an angel, this eroded world shall be regenerated."

"Thank you. I swear on my life I will regenerate the world," Colette's promise was as heartfelt a statement as Lloyd had ever heard. Her eyebrows furrowed together, the only part of her face not schooled into perfect serenity as she gazed upon the angel before her.

"First head south, to the Seal of Fire. Offer your prayers in that distant land," the angel instructed. When he had finished, the snowy wings redoubled their lazy efforts and began to bear him upwards once more.

"Yes, Lord Remiel," Colette acquiesced. Her eyebrows furrowed further and, seemingly before she could stop herself, the girl called out, "Uh, wait! Please wait! I have a question I wish to ask of you. Are you really my fa—"

"First head to the Seal of Fire. Understood?" Remiel repeated, interrupting firmly. Then, his face breaking into a gentle smile, he added, "My beloved daughter, Colette."

"F…father! …So you really are my true father," Colette said, looking overwhelmed.

"We shall meet again at the next seal, my daughter." And with those words, Remiel ascended to the ceiling, where he vanished in a flash of light and another scattering of feathers that dissolved like snowflakes upon hitting the ground. Colette and Genis turned to each other with identical expressions of awe and dawning joy.

"You've received the Oracle. Then let us leave now, Chosen," Kratos broke the moment in his usual dour way.

"…Oh, yes," Colette was brought back to Sylvarant with a bump.

"We're going ahead," Kratos turned and stepped into the teleporter without so much as a backwards glance.

"Genis, stop by my house later, okay?" Colette hesitated before following. "Didn't you say you wanted me to meet someone?"

"Oh, yeah," Genis nodded. "I'll be there, don't worry."

"Sorry," Colette smiled and teleported away. Genis's face fell slightly and he turned to Lloyd, placing his hands on his hips and looking the animal up and down appraisingly.

"You're sticking with me, huh? Somehow, I thought you were here for Colette. Most people are," the elf commented. Lloyd was startled for a few seconds before it occurred to him that people talked to animals all the time—it didn't necessarily mean they expected an answer, or any sort of recognition at all. It was just a way to get their thoughts out there to someone who would 'listen' and not judge. Though Lloyd might have been a tad more judgmental than the average wolf…

"Raine'll never let me keep you," the boy was continuing, warningly. "So don't think you'll be able to butter her up with that stunt you pulled on the plateau." Lloyd wondered briefly if Genis meant the killing-a-crazy-man-with-a-mace stunt or the playful act he'd put on for Kratos. It didn't matter much, he decided, allowing his tongue to loll out of the side of his mouth. It was kind of hot up here. Genis saw this, sighed heavily, muttered something inaudible, and headed for the teleporter, Lloyd hard on his heels.

The two appeared in the temple's foyer to find Kratos and Colette long gone. In the middle of the room, however, a familiar woman in an indistinguishably-colored coat stood, staring at the chapel around her raptly.

"MARVELOUS!" she cried out exuberantly.

"…Sis?" Genis faltered, taken aback by his sister's unexpected presence. Raine whirled around, looking just as surprised to see her sibling here as he was.

"Genis? What are you doing here? You're supposed to be studying in class!" a dangerous glint entered her eyes, like sunlight glancing off blue icicles as sharp as knives.

"Raine! I… I'm sorry!" Genis shouted frantically as Raine bore down on him like an avenging angel. Lloyd, who had been trying to keep a low profile behind his friend's legs, decided that now would be a good time to intervene, before things got physical. Maybe it was the orphaned, never-had-a-family side of him, but he never had been able to stand any kind of familial violence, however affectionate or well-meaning, be it hitting, spanking, or anything else. There were other ways to solve problems, and much more effective ways to discipline a child—and Genis was twelve, for Shadow's sake!—than hitting.

The wolf interposed himself between the Sages, yapping twice in an attitude that clearly told Raine to keep her distance. He refrained from growling or snarling like he normally would have. After all, Raine was his sort-of-friend too, and he certainly didn't want to get into her bad books. The elder Sage halted in her tracks, eyes going perfectly round.

"Genis… is that… is that a _wolf_?" she choked.

"Yeah," the boy shifted uncomfortably. "He saved us from some Desians and then just kind of… attached himself to me. Cut it out, boy, that's my sister." Lloyd subsided obediently. Belatedly, he realized what a good opportunity this was to show Raine how tame and pet-like he could be, the better to stay with her on the Journey of Regeneration.

"I see," Raine regained some of her composure. "That's certainly unusual."

"You're telling me. Hey, Raine," Genis took on a hopeful expression, though he tried to hide it. "Have you gone back to the house yet? Is Nix still there?" Lloyd startled a bit at the name, remembering that it wasn't his anymore. In all the excitement, he had forgotten his new identity.

Raine's solemn expression told all even before she had opened her mouth to say, "I'm sorry, Genis. He was gone when I got there. He didn't even leave a note. I know you were hoping he would stay."

"O-oh. Okay," Genis tried not to show his disappointment, but failed miserably. Lloyd whined and licked his hand comfortingly. _It's okay, Genis. I'm right here. _Genis weaved his fingers into Lloyd's fur, gaining some comfort from the contact, though he remained downhearted.

"Go back home," Raine said sympathetically. "There will be no class for the rest of the day."

"What about you?" Genis looked up.

"I've received permission from Phaidra to study this temple a little while longer," Raine's voice and expression grew a bit sharper with some withheld emotion. "It's not often that ordinary citizens have the opportunity to enter this place." With that, she turned and strode over to the far side of the room, unable to keep her mind off her studies for any longer. Genis, used to conversations ending in this abrupt manner, sighed and steered Lloyd towards the door, his hand still resting in the fur on the back of the wolf's neck.

"MUAHAHAHA!" the sudden, maniacal cackle from behind startled Lloyd so badly that his paws skidded on the slick floors and his fur puffed out like a pufferfish. Genis laughed at the canine's antics and led the way back to the village in much higher spirits than before.

Once in the village, however, the elf did not bring Lloyd back to his house, but rather made for Colette's. Lloyd barely recognized the village from this new altitude; everything seemed so much _bigger_ and… less shabby than it had when he was human. Not to mention the lesser detail and blue-yellow colors of his wolf vision.

While he had been able to hear Colette's family's conversation from the street while human, he had then only been able to catch cadences and tones but not actual words. Now, approaching the door, he clearly heard several voices.

"Then, we shall entrust the protection of the Chosen to Kratos and Raine," an unfamiliar man was saying.

"I have no objections." That was Kratos. There was no mistaking that emotionless monotone. Further eavesdropping was made moot as Genis mounted the front steps and pushed the door open without bothering to knock, knowing it would be unlocked. Lloyd got the feeling that the boy trod this route quite often. He padded up the steps after him, hovering in the doorway while the elf went inside.

A meeting appeared to be in progression in the front room. Seated around the kitchen table were Colette herself, her 'father' and grandmother, an officious-looking person whom Lloyd had never seen before (but to whom he assumed the first voice had belonged), and Kratos. All turned at the sound of the door opening, though reactions to the boy and wolf's entrance were varied. Colette brightened visibly. Her 'father' and grandmother both frowned and looked disapproving. The officious-looking person paled considerably. Kratos remained indifferent.

"Oh, you're back," Colette's grandmother—Phaidra, if Lloyd recalled correctly—said.

"Yep. Hey, you were talking about the Regeneration Journey just now, weren't you?" Genis asked, steeling himself for something.

"Yes, we were," Phaidra answered.

"If Raine's going, I want to go too," the boy announced firmly, his chin stuck out stubbornly. Lloyd made a soft grunt of agreement. He liked Raine, it was true, but he liked Genis more. He wanted to stay with him, if at all possible. Unfortunately, Kratos was shaking his head.

"No. You'll get in the way."

"B-but!" Genis protested, his calm façade cracking. "I've got him now!" he pointed at Lloyd. "He can help fight, too—didn't you see him in front of the chapel? We won't get in the way, I promise!"

"The wilderness is no place for children," Kratos maintained. In the face of that absurd statement—even though he knew it was a mistake he would pay for later—Lloyd could not hold in snorts of bitter laughter. He unconvincingly disguised them as coughs, earning him concerned looks from everybody except Kratos. Well, he admitted with an internal wince, it _had_ kind of sounded like he was hacking up a hairball… which was odd coming from a canine no matter what the circumstances.

"You'll be safer here," the mercenary finished, Lloyd's behavior notwithstanding. "You should stay home."

"Kratos is absolutely right," Phaidra agreed. "Now then, we still have things to discuss. You should go home, Genis. And don't let that animal in your house; it's a wild beast."

"Yes, ma'am," Genis said dully, turning and slouching despondently out the door. Lloyd paused on the front step to glare over his shoulder and give a condescending snort before bounding after his charge. He padded along at Genis's heels as the elf made his slow, depressed way home. They hadn't gotten far before the house behind them opened up and disgorged a hurried-looking blonde.

"Please, wait!" Colette called, hastening after her friend. She tripped and fell on her face before she'd gotten three steps. Genis rolled his eyes as she climbed to her feet, apologizing profusely to no one.

"Wasn't there someone you wanted me to meet?" she eventually asked Genis, once the air had apparently forgiven her.

"Yeah, that. He's… he left this morning," Genis sighed. "I thought… hoped… he'd stay longer, but I guess this town was too boring for him. He really had me thinking we could be friends, too…" he looked down, sniffing once.

"Um! I'm sorry!" Colette apologized quickly as if to head off any upsetness. "Maybe he just went out for something!" she added feebly.

"I did say he should go to Dirk's," Genis admitted, reluctant for his hopes to be rekindled.

"We can check with Dirk this afternoon, then," Colette said, relieved. "I'll come get you once I know what time I'm leaving tomorrow, okay?"

"Okay," Genis nodded. "I'll be waiting. Try not to trip and fall in the flowerbeds again—Raine killed _me_ last time it happened."

"Oh no! I'm sorry!" Colette's face was the picture of remorse. Genis sighed and rolled his eyes again, affectionately.

"I was joking, dork," he smiled. "I'll see you later."

"Bye, Genis," the blonde nodded once before turning and hurrying back inside, stumbling on the steps but catching herself before she fell. Genis watched her go amusedly. Lloyd cocked his head to the side, feeling a bit guilty. He hadn't realized his going would affect Genis so badly. Well, it didn't seem like the boy had too many friends—just Colette, actually, and she didn't seem quite up to his level—and it had to be hard, being an elf in a small, prejudiced human village like this.

"Come on, boy," the white-haired boy said, turning towards home once more. Lloyd fell into step beside him.

It wasn't until much later that he realized that he had, on several occasions now, thought of the Sages' house as 'home'.


	3. Peace Breaker

**Kitty: I think the lack of reviews is probably somehow linked to my summary… It kind of makes Nix sound like an OC. I know that I, personally, don't much like OC-centric fics. I'll see about changing that…**

**Zelos: Or maybe it's because your story is about some kid with a were-sphere and some serious familial issues?**

**Kitty: Admit it, you love him. Besides, it's a wolf-sphere. A were-sphere would turn an animal into a human.**

**Zelos: …And here, I would normally feign interest while staring at your chest, if I could only SEE you…**

**Kitty: Just get on with the disclaimer, perv.**

**Zelos: Anything for the omniscient voice in my head. YearOfTheKitty does not own Tales of Symphonia. She does, however, own this fic and its… UNIQUE plot alterations.**

**Kitty: Enjoy!**

~ ~ ~~ ~ ~

**Chapter Three**

**Peace-Breaker**

"_There's something deep inside_

_That keeps my faith alive_

_When all you can do_

_Is hide from the fear_

_That's deep inside of you."_

—_Skillet, 'Collide'_

To Lloyd's surprise, Genis did not lead him home. The elf boy strode past the Sage residence with a determined air, heading out of the village. Lloyd's paws faltered for a moment before hurrying to keep pace with his friend, curious as to where they were going. He was pretty confident that he could protect Genis in the woods (after all, he'd spent the majority of his travels fending off or running away from monsters in wolf form) but there was the niggling doubt in the back of his mind that said he'd never fought to protect before—only to escape. The wolf lifted his head to look into Genis's face and whined questioningly, nudging the elf's hip with his shoulder.

"Don't worry, I'll only be gone for a few minutes," Genis responded almost automatically, forgetting it was an animal he spoke to. "Colette won't miss me and I won't be gone long enough for a monster to attack." The white-haired boy glanced down at his canine companion, almost startled to find Lloyd there. He chuckled self-consciously. "Man, you communicate well for a wolf! I keep forgetting you don't really understand." Lloyd curled his lip at that, prompting another chuckle from his friend, which pleased him.

His mood soured as Genis led him up the path that Lloyd knew eventually led to Dirk's… if you took the fork. Genis did not take the fork, striding purposefully towards the Desian human ranch. The moment Lloyd realized where they were going he yelped and darted in front of the younger boy, blocking his progress.

"Hey! Move it!" Genis attempted to shove the wolf out of his way, but Lloyd dug his paws in and refused to budge. The elf gave up with a sigh of frustration. "Look, I'm going to visit a friend, okay? I won't get caught." Lloyd growled reluctantly, but moved to the side after a moment. He stuck close to Genis after that, eyes and ears straining for any sign of Desians.

The boy jogged around the side of the ranch, coming to a stop at a certain part of the fence. From here, Lloyd could see the prisoners inside shoving huge blocks of stone in circles. He blinked in incomprehension. What was the purpose of _that_?

His speculations were cut off by the approach of an elderly woman. She wore the ragged white dress all female prisoners wore, as well as the black collar around her neck. Her face was lined more than it should have been, even at her age, and her hair—pulled back at the nape of her neck—was pure steel. A completely nondescript woman, all in all, and utterly unremarkable if you met her on the street.

Lloyd froze up in shock, gaping in a very human expression of shock. He knew this woman. She was one of the few people he'd met that he _would_ recognize on the street. (Though the Desian human ranch was by no means as casual a meeting place as a street.) He hadn't seen her in almost a year now, but there was no mistaking her.

Marble.

"Marble!" Genis called softly, catching her attention.

"Genis, is that you?" Marble moved to the fence, her face crinkling in a tired smile. Lloyd glanced between the two of them. The whole scene felt surreal, this meeting of his old life and new one in such an odd place. Marble's eyes fell on the wolf at Genis's side and grew large. Clearly the year apart hadn't affected her memory either.

"Th-that's…" she began. Lloyd jerked his head to the side slightly, warning her with his eyes. _Genis doesn't know._

"Huh?" Genis glanced between Marble and the wolf.

"That's a strange dog you have there, Genis," Marble recovered smoothly.

"He just started following me around," Genis shrugged. "I can't get rid of him. He's a lot smarter than most wolves."

"I can tell," Marble's eyes danced mischievously and Lloyd could practically _hear_ the jibe to his intelligence that she normally would have made.

"_Dear me, one would think you'd never seen a school before!"_

"_Sorry, were those words too big for you?"_

"_Happy festival! Look what I got you… an abacus!"_

Lloyd winced and shoved the memories from his mind. That had been a long time ago. He'd been away so long he hadn't even known Marble was missing, a fact he now felt guilty for. But how was he to know this would happen?

"Marble, did you see it?" Genis was saying excitedly. "There was an Oracle!"

"Yes, I did," Marble nodded. "I saw the Tower of Salvation. Now the Chosen's Journey of Regeneration can finally begin. I hope it is successful this time…"

"I hope Colette will be okay," Genis looked down. "They still won't let me go with her."

"Let us pray to Martel. May she guide the Chosen on a safe journey," Marble clasped her hands as Colette often did, bowing her head over them. The afternoon sun glinted off the back of her hand in the way it only ever did off metal surfaces. Lloyd's fur fluffed out in shock.

An Exsphere. Marble had an Exsphere on her hand.

Just like he did.

Lloyd went wild, yapping and throwing his front paws onto the lowest rung of the fence, his tail sticking out stiffly in rage. Red were his eyes and his vision. What had they done to Marble? He would tear them all apart! How dare they experiment on her like… like… some sort of animal?

How dare they risk turning her into an abomination like him?

"Quiet!" Genis hissed, panicking. "Cut it out! Sit, boy!" Lloyd stopped barking, aware that any more would bring the entire ranch down on their heads, but remained tense and angry. He whined loudly and scrabbled one paw insistently against the fence. Genis looked at it and gasped, finally noticing the glittering jewel on the wolf's ankle. Marble saw it too, her expression softening as it confirmed her earlier suspicions. The old woman knelt down and reached one hand out, placing it comfortingly between Lloyd's ears. The wolf quieted further under her touch, though nothing could extinguish the scarlet flames in his eyes.

"It's all right, boy," she said. "It makes me sick, but does nothing beyond that. Though I do wish mine were as pretty as yours."

"Why… why does he have an Exsphere?" Genis stared. "He's a wolf!"

"Perhaps the Desians have gotten to this one as well," Marble theorized, standing upright once more.

"Yeah, maybe," Genis suddenly frowned, a thought striking him. "He doesn't seem sick at all, though. Why would yours do that and not his? The only thing different is…" He trailed off and glanced between the two orbs. "That gold stuff," he finally finished. "Yours doesn't have it and you're sick. His does and he isn't. That must be the difference. Whatever it is, we've got to get you one."

"Is there anyone in your village who might know more about Exspheres?" Marble asked. Genis subsided into thought, crossing his arms and bowing his head.

"Dirk," he said after a while. "He's a dwarf. He might know about it since it's got to do with craftwork. I was going to his house soon anyway, so I'll ask him about it then."

"What would you be wanting with a dwarven smith?" Marble steered the conversation towards what she thought would be a more cheerful topic. To her surprise, Genis's face darkened.

"I… he…" Genis sighed heavily. "There was this boy I met yesterday. He was really nice, and I thought we could be friends, but he left town today. I told him to go by Dirk's to get a weapon since he travels around the countryside unarmed, but I'm not sure he did. I'm going to check. It'll put my mind at ease to know he's at least protected that much."

"I'm sorry about that," Marble said sympathetically. "Travelers are strange, feckless folk sometimes. What was his name?"

"Nix," Genis raised one eyebrow at Marble's expression. "Do you know him?" Lloyd shook his head slightly in warning.

"No," Marble denied smilingly. "But he sounds like a half-wit if he turned down the friendship of a boy like you, Genis." Genis perked up slightly while Lloyd slumped. Leave it to Marble…

"Speaking of names, what are you going to call that wolf of yours?" Marble wanted to know.

"I don't—" Genis was cut off by the sudden shout of a Desian soldier.

"Hey, old hag! What the hell you doin' over there?"

"Oh, no," Marble breathed, glancing back. "The Desians! Run away, you two! Hurry!"

"I-I'm sorry!" Genis cried, turning away. Somewhere deep inside of him, the white-haired boy felt contempt for his cowardly actions, even though his logical mind told him it was the only thing he could do. How could he fight all of them with his pathetic magic? He paused when he realized that the unnamed wolf was still lingering by Marble, growling. "Come on, boy, we can't stay here! The whole village will suffer if we're caught!" Genis seized a handful of the animal's fur and tugged.

"Go, I'll be fine," Marble assured them. The wolf reluctantly let himself be led away, looking back over his shoulder as they went. He saw the old woman be berated by three soldiers. Two of them grabbed her arms and dragged her away, out of sight.

"Oh, I hope she's okay…" Genis worried, glancing back as well. Lloyd made up his mind. He bounded forward, ignoring Genis's cries to wait. He had to know what was happening. Marble… she was one of his only friends. He didn't have enough of those to take this lightly. He sprinted wildly to the cliff nearby and then up its side, coming to a higher part where he could see right into the ranch. Genis came up beside him, halting dead when he, too, saw what was happening beneath them.

"She's…" Genis faltered. He couldn't say it. The smell of blood and the crack of whips assaulted Lloyd's senses and blinded him to everything except the brutal beating taking place before his furious crimson eyes.

The wolf tossed back his head and howled loudly, screaming his frustration to the sky. He couldn't do anything! What use was it, giving him a hero-complex and empathy that refused to be extinguished no matter how long he wandered when he _couldn't do anything_?! What was the point of these feelings, or this 'power' of his if they couldn't be put to use in the way he wanted to use them?

"Keep it down," Genis hissed. Then, to himself, "We've got to save her… but how? I could use magic… but then they'd see where it came from and come after me…" The elf flinched at the glare his companion turned on him. "I don't want to die, you know!" he defended himself, then bit his lip until it bled. Another crack split the air.

After a second of agonizing decision, he straightened and set his face. "I'll do it." The elf pulled out his kendama and held it before him, looking as terrified as it was possible for someone so resolute to look. "I hope that Exsphere really does make you faster, because we're going to have to haul some serious butt in a minute." And then, thrusting out with the toy in his right hand, the elf boy shouted, "FIREBALL!"

Three spheres of crackling flames shot through the air, looping around to strike each of the Desians that were whipping Marble in the chest. They dropped their whips and staggered, though they didn't fall. Genis hadn't aimed to kill. No matter his anger, he couldn't bring himself to kill so cold-bloodedly.

"What the?!" one of them shouted, beating out a flame that had taken hold of his cloth sleeve.

At that moment, Lloyd made his move. Before Genis could say or do anything, the wolf slammed his head into the boy's knees, toppling him over into the bushes just as the three Desians looked up, tracking the fireballs' progress backwards through the air. When their eyes finally found the cliff, all they saw was a brown and white wolf. The wolf looked down at them, yapped once, and turned around, flipping his tail up at them before leaping off the cliff to the lower ground by the ranch's fence. Unfortunately, what he hadn't planned for was the glint of sunlight that reflected off his paw as he fell, and which didn't go unnoticed by the Desians.

"What…? That mutt's got an Exsphere!" one of them shouted, incredulous and furious and humiliated all at once. "Did it use that magic?"

"Monsters use magic all the time, idiot! I want to know how it got one of our Exspheres, and more importantly, a Keycrest!" another growled. "After it, men!"

"Open the main gate!" the third Desian shouted as the trio rushed off. Lloyd shot off along the cliff as quickly as he could, but he could see that he would never make it past the front gate by the time the Desians emerged from it. Sure enough, he was still a good ten yards away when the soldiers burst out of the ranch, swords drawn and ready to bring home a nice wolf pelt-blanket. Lloyd dropped into an attack crouch, snarling noisily as they advanced.

"N-no!" Genis, who had climbed down the cliff by now, ran from the bushes to stand between the Desians and the wolf. His legs trembled, as did his voice, but his face was firm. "That's my dog!"

"How'd it get an Exsphere, huh?" the leading Desian demanded. "You put it on him, brat?"

"No…" Genis hesitated.

"Let's just kill them both," another Desian suggested. The first two seemed to agree with this by the way they charged forwards, swords poised.

Lloyd dodged around Genis to come up beneath the soldier in front, seizing his sword arm in his strong jaws. The Desian shouted and dropped his sword, one of his companions going in to gut Lloyd while his mouth was occupied, the other heading for Genis. Lloyd dropped the Desian's arm and ducked the second one's thrust, lunging forward to trip up the third one. Genis cast Fireball again, and the second Desian fell to the ground to rise no more.

Lloyd came down on the Desian he'd tripped, snapping at the man's throat. His teeth met flesh, but before he could be sure he'd gotten what he'd aimed for, a gloved hand in his scruff yanked him back. That was the Desian whose arm he'd wounded earlier. Unfortunately, he was using his good arm to grip the wolf, and no matter how he twisted, Lloyd couldn't reach his captor.

At that moment, something small and brightly-colored shot past Lloyd's nose to strike the Desian holding him in the head. It clanged off of his helmet with a crash that made both Lloyd and the Desian grimace, and caused the fingers gripping Lloyd's neck to loosen and allow him to spin around and lunge. The wolf smacked into the Desian's chest, and there was another crash from the already-dented helmet as it connected with the rocky ground. The Desian lay still, knocked out by the impact.

Lloyd climbed off him and sniffed around for whatever had distracted the soldier. It lay a few feet away, looking very out-of-place. It was… a kendama.

Lloyd turned to give Genis the most skeptical look a wolf was capable of making.

"What?" the elf flushed embarrassedly, glaring. "I didn't have time to cast a spell!" Lloyd rolled his eyes and padded away, towards the path leading back to the village. Genis hurried after him, remembering the urgency of the situation.

"We… broke the treaty, didn't we?" the boy asked rhetorically some time later, as they trudged through Iselia Forest. "But they broke it first, going after Colette like that at the temple. So… what does this mean for the village…?" Lloyd glanced up at him sadly. Even if could have spoken, he wouldn't have had an answer for that.

~ ~ ~~ ~ ~

Colette arrived at Genis's house just as the sun was sinking below the horizon. Raine and Kratos were with her, their business at the Brunels' house evidently concluded. The elder Sage retired to her room upstairs as soon as she came through the door, leaving Genis to bound out the front door with Lloyd in tow and Colette beside him. Kratos followed behind the young ones as silently and closely as a purple and red shadow.

Colette imparted to Genis that she, the mercenary, and his sister would be departing for the Journey of Regeneration at noon tomorrow. Kratos twitched at that, as if wishing she hadn't told him, but held his peace. Lloyd trotted alongside them, his tongue hanging out and tail wagging happily. His paws faltered for a moment when he realized these facts. He had to be careful that he didn't spend _too_ much time as a wolf, or who knew if he'd be able to change back again? If he started becoming too wolfish he might forget he was supposed to be human.

The group soon reached Dirk's house, the setting sun painting everything shades of fire. Lloyd broke away from his friends, galloping around the side of the house to Anna's—his mom's—grave. He sniffed the stone twice, sneezed, and bowed his head. After a moment of solemnity, he flung his head up, yapped once, and scampered back to his perplexed companions. Genis shrugged at Colette's questioning look and stepped onto the porch, reaching out to rap on the door with his fist.

After a few minutes, the door swung inwards to reveal the dwarf Dirk, his hair and beard looking like patches of darker sunset in the orange-tinted light. The dwarven smith blinked at Kratos—his eyes automatically aiming upwards after many years' association with humans—before he looked down and saw Colette and Genis at eye level.

"Hello, you two," he greeted, used to the children's occasional visit. Dirk was one of the few villagers—if he could be classified as such, living outside the village as he did—who didn't insist on treating Colette like she was already a holy being, and therefore was one of the young blonde's favored friends. And, since Genis went everywhere with her, the elf and dwarf were on friendly terms as well. "Well, ye gonna stand out here all night, or ye gonna come inside?" he stepped aside for the children to pass, which they did. There was a moment of hesitation on Dirk's part as he eyed Kratos, wondering if the tall swordsman was coming in as well.

The mercenary solved his problem for him by striding forward imperiously, stationing himself in a corner of the large main room and leaning against the wall with his arms folded, clearly there to stay. Dirk shrugged, then staggered as an eager Lloyd surged past him in a river of brown and white fur, excited to see the inside of a dwarf's house. To the wolf's disappointment, it was no different from a human's (or elf's) dwelling. Even the furniture, which he had fancifully shrunk down in his mind, was only slightly differently scaled than usual—so little different that Lloyd would not have noticed had he not been looking for it. He drooped slightly and threw himself down at Genis's feet with a thump, panting on the floor and looking for all the world like an overgrown pet dog.

"Well, what've we got here?" the dwarf bent over to inspect Lloyd, reaching out to scratch the canine's ears. Lloyd let him do it, grinning. "I've never seen this fine beast before. He yours, Colette?"

"No, Genis's," Colette shook her head with a smile. "He saved us at the temple!" Kratos's eyes narrowed at the reminder, making a mental note to find out if Yggdrasil had anything to do with the wolf's appearance. It wasn't likely, but who else had an investment in this journey as well as power over monsters? The Renegades, maybe… the extent of their influence was difficult to pinpoint since most people couldn't tell them from Desians. Perhaps they could control monsters as well.

"That so?" Dirk straightened and made his way over to the table where Genis and Colette were seated. "Any particular reason you two decided to come visin'?"

"Yeah," Genis leaned forward, his face set. "Just this morning, did a guy with brown hair and ratty clothes come by?" Kratos listened idly, not really interested in the conversation. Due to his wandering attention, he noticed that one of the wolf's ears appeared to be cocked in the direction of the conversation taking place above its head. Listening. Well, didn't dogs do that often? It didn't necessarily mean it understood.

"Yes, he came by earlier," Dirk nodded. "You know him?"

"He stayed with Raine and me last night," Genis affirmed. "I wanted to make sure he got a weapon like I told him to so he wouldn't be wandering around defenseless in the wilderness."

"He couldn't afford a weapon," Dirk informed the boy. "Surely you don't think if he had enough money for something like that he'd dress a little better?" A slight growl came from the wolf beneath the table, but it was unlikely that anyone except Kratos could hear it. The redheaded man glanced at the animal, but it was riveted on the conversation. Was this really normal dog behavior? Noishe had done it, but then again Noishe was no ordinary dog. Noishe had… understood what was going on… now here was an interesting train of thought…

"I guess…" Genis seemed crestfallen. "I hope he's okay without it…"

"He seemed in high spirits when he left," Dirk seemed to hesitate, looking at the white-haired boy's expression. "…There's something else. I'm not sure if it's my tale to tell, but it might make you feel better to know it."

"What is it?" Colette piped up.

"Did ye see that grave on yer way inside?" Kratos's attention snapped away from his speculations to the dwarf. He had seen the grave… had seen the names carved on it. Of course, he had known that Anna and Lloyd were dead for fourteen years… and he knew it made sense for them to be buried here considering that the fatal fight had taken place only half a mile or so from here. But what could a badly-dressed drifter boy have to do with his late wife and son?

At both youth's nods, Dirk continued, "That be the grave of a woman I found dying at the bottom of the cliffs almost twenty years ago. She told me her son'd fallen with her, but I never found his body…" Kratos's breath caught in his throat.

"Nix?" Genis cried. There was a loud bang originating from the table leg, where the brown and white wolf had jerked violently and hit his shoulder on it. Colette leaned down and began to rub its head reassuringly. Perhaps he had been startled by the sudden upswing in volume, Kratos mused. He didn't spare much thought on it, though, too preoccupied with what Dirk was insinuating.

"You think Nix is that woman's son?" Genis asked, more quietly.

"Aye. His name's Lloyd now," Dirk smiled. "Lloyd Nix, he said. Then the Oracle came and he was off like a shot for the village. Probably spooked him."

"Yeah," Genis agreed. The boy's face had lightened considerably. Colette, too, was all smiles.

Kratos, on the other hand, retreated behind the most inscrutable mask he had ever constructed. Lloyd… was alive? His son was alive? And not only alive, but had recently passed through this village at the same time as him? It was too much of a coincidence…but why would Dirk and Genis both tell the same lie? It was too much to take in. For the last fourteen years—counting the days, the hours, since his life had ended alongside his wife and son—he had wished with all his might that Lloyd, Lloyd at least, had survived. Suddenly, that wish was coming true, and Kratos was far too cynical to take such a miracle at face value.

Just then, a thought struck him like a thunderbolt, so startling that it took all his self-control not to jerk away from the wall. Had he… seen Lloyd? He frowned and thought back. As he had been entering the village, he had passed a boy heading in the other direction at top speed, head down and arms pumping. Their eyes had met for a moment, and then he had been gone. It hadn't mattered at the time—what was one dirty street urchin when he had a mission to begin? Now, though, it mattered the world.

He shut his eyes and tried to summon an image of the boy, as perfect as his incredible memory could create. Tanned skin like he'd spent much time outdoors, bony as a skeleton though tall and somewhat muscled, long shaggy brown hair (much like Kratos's own hair, now that he thought of it, though the color of Anna's) that hung in wide brown eyes (again, a mirror image of Anna's). It was blurred, fleeting, but the image was there, replaying endlessly as Kratos watched hungrily. This boy was his son. His son. His Lloyd. Alive and healthy… well, maybe not as healthy as he would have liked, Kratos thought critically of the boy's skinniness, but malnourished was infinitely better than dead.

"Speaking of names," Colette began, "Genis, have you decided what to name your dog?"

"It's a wolf," Dirk corrected.

"Of course. I'm sorry."

"I haven't decided yet," Genis sighed. "He's an odd wolf, so he's got to have an odd name, but everything I think of sounds too ordinary."

"I'm sure you'll think of something," the blonde Chosen asserted.

"Oh, yeah, I just remembered," Genis's eyes lit up as he remembered something. "I wanted to ask you, Dirk… what's the gold stuff on Exspheres?"

"Eh?" Dirk blinked. "You mean a Keycrest? That's a mighty strange thing to be askin'. Exspheres are volatile things—they make the user sick if applied to the skin, but they're no use otherwise. Keycrests are mounts made of inhibitor ore and carved with a special charm that protects the wearer from the Exsphere's negative effects."

"Oh," Genis looked down, then up again. "How much would it cost for you to make me one?"

"What?" Colette gasped and Dirk exclaimed.

"What d'ye want with a Keycrest? Ye don't have no Expshere," Dirk noted.

"It's for a friend of mine," Genis looked down again. "She's sick, and I didn't know why until just today. I want to help her."

"If she had no Keycrest, how did you find out they existed?" Kratos's sudden question made everyone present jump, having forgotten him in his corner.

"Oh… um…" Genis shifted uncomfortably. "…My dog," he finally admitted. "He's got an Exsphere and Keycrest and he's not sick, while my friend had an Exsphere and no Keycrest and she was really sick. It was just logic from there."

"Your dog has a Keycrest?" Colette, Dirk, and Kratos chorused in surprising and never-to-be-repeated unison. The wolf in question sighed heavily and climbed to his paws. One brown-furred leg lifted to drape over the top of his bowed head, clearly displaying the bracelet-like Keycrest and pendant-like Exsphere.

"I've never seen a Keycrest like that before," Dirk murmured. "I didn't know it was possible for animals to equip them."

"Apparently it is," Genis shrugged. "Otherwise he'd be dead, wouldn't he? I thought maybe the Desians have been experimenting on him. He really tore into them at the temple, didn't he?"

"Poor doggie," Colette clasped her hands and gazed sadly at the wolf. "I'm so sorry you had to go through that." The wolf thumped his tail once. Kratos looked at it askance. True, the Exsphere might explain this animal's heightened brain power, but why would anyone test such a thing? Of what use was a semi-intelligent canine? The Desians certainly were not behind it unless one of the Grand Cardinals was working on an unauthorized side-project (and who knew? Rodyle, for one, had become far less cooperative in recent times…). That left the Renegades.

Kratos snorted. He had less to fear from them than he had thought if they were spending their time creating creatures such as this. His thoughts drifted back to the revelation of a few minutes earlier. Lloyd…

"I can make ye a Keycrest," Dirk agreed. "That said, it's been nice seein' ye, but I think it's time for you two to head back home," Dirk climbed to his feet. "You've got a big day tomorrow, Colette. I wish you luck. Genis, I'll have your Keycrest ready by tomorrow."

"Thank you," Colette clasped her hands again and jumped to her feet.

"Yeah, thanks," Genis smiled slightly and followed her example—without the jump. Kratos pushed away from the wall when he saw they were leaving, yanked from his thoughts of Lloyd. The group trooped out the door and onto the path leading back to Iselia, Colette and Genis twisting around as they walked to call their goodbyes to the silhouette of Dirk in the doorway.

"That was great!" Genis enthused, folding his arms behind his head. "I'll get the Keycrest tomorrow and Marble will be saved. I'm still a little worried about Nix—I mean, Lloyd, though."

"I'm sure wherever he is, he's very happy to finally know who he is," Colette said.

"Yeah, I bet you're right," Genis agreed. "Still, I wish he'd said where he was going next. If he'd just waited a day, he could have left with you, Colette. If you see him on your journey tell him I said hi, okay?"

"I promise," Colette nodded.

"I wish…" Genis's arms dropped and he sighed heavily. "I really wish I could go with you. I want to be there when you turn into an angel, not to mention with Raine gone I'll be all alone in the village until the Journey's over."

"There's Dirk," Colette encouraged, her smile becoming just the slightest bit strained. "I'm sure you'll have lots of fun. You won't even have to go to school!"

"I guess," Genis's smile was noticeably more strained than his friend's.

"And you'll have your doggie," Colette added. The wolf sneezed and looked up, looking almost sad as Genis's smile grew more genuine. The elf rubbed his ears briefly.

"Yeah, that's true. I'll still miss you, Colette."

"I'll miss you too, Genis. Every day. I'm very grateful to have such a good friend," the blonde girl clasped her hands again, almost absentmindedly.

"Well, goodnight then," Genis stopped. They had entered the village while talking, and now stood in front of Genis's house. "I'll come see you off at noon, okay?"

"Of course!" Colette grinned.

"Goodnight," Genis repeated, turning and climbing his front steps. The wolf lingered long enough to lick the girl's hand once before following the elf boy.

"Goodnight," Colette called as they disappeared. And then, almost too quietly for even Kratos, right beside her, to hear, "And goodbye."

The Chosen and her bodyguard turned and faded into the night.


	4. Outcast and Offspring

**Kitty: Yay! More reviews! Thank you all so much! I also got a review from Ark Navy that was very helpful and brought up some good points. Yes, I know I haven't explained at all what is up with Lloyd's Exsphere. No, I did not just put in a wolf-sphere because I thought 'OMG wolves are so cool let's put a wolf in now'. I do think wolves are cool, but that's beside the point. The point is… you won't find out yet. Just know that there is an explanation and that it is logical (as logical as anything in the Symphonia-verse is anyway… I mean, living organisms that neither ingest nutrients from an outside source nor synthesize their own? Seriously? How are they living?). There's an entire game (and a long one, at that) to find out what's going on. Be patient. Come up with your own theories.**

**Zelos: There have already been two major clues. Or, rather, there has been one major clue and there's another in this chapter. Seriously, I'm surprised no one's commented on the first one yet… I'll give you a hint: look for a clue that ISN'T there.**

**Kitty: Or, alternately, just sit back and enjoy the ride! Oh, also Ark Navy mentioned that Genis doesn't know First Aid, yet he used it. I realize now that this was an error… and I'm not changing it. It doesn't make much sense for Kratos to use First Aid right then (he's got other things on his mind) and Raine isn't there. So… deal with it.**

**Zelos: And if that doesn't give you a hint that she doesn't own Tales of Symphonia, I don't know what does.**

**Kitty: Just one more thing before the main event. In this chap, you might notice some odd language on Lloyd's part. I would apologize, but I am unrepentant. I take an unholy (literally) glee in coming up with religious expletives for alternate worlds with an established religion. For example, in Sylvarant, the phrase 'Mithos the Hero' might be used interchangeably with 'Jesus Christ' (i.e. "Sweet Mithos the Hero, Zelos, keep your hands to yourself!"). The Summon Spirits are by far my favorite 'swear words' though.**

**Zelos: Just smile and nod indulgently and maybe she'll leave us alone…**

**Kitty: So, please, in spite of this ridiculously long A/N enjoy! And don't forget to review!**

~ ~ ~~ ~ ~

**Chapter Four**

**Outcast and Offspring**

"_Down an unknown road to embrace my fate_

_Though the road may wander, it will lead me to you_

_And a thousand years would be worth the wait_

_It may take a lifetime, but somehow I'll see it through."_

—_Lucas Gabreel, 'Go the Distance'_

Lloyd awoke the next day to the sounds of Genis in the kitchen downstairs. He yawned and stretched, hopping off the foot of the boy's bed where he had spent the night. His claws and rough pads skittered loudly on the wood floors as he happily galumphed downstairs. Genis looked up briefly as the animal appeared in the kitchen, but looked down again quickly, not wanting whatever he was cooking to burn.

"Good morning," he said. "I haven't got any dog food or whatever for you, so you'll just have to make do with what I've got now until I get some, okay?" Genis looked up as if expecting an answer, and Lloyd let his tongue loll out and his tail wag in response. The elf shook his head exasperatedly. "You know, I feel like such an idiot for talking to a dog… and then you go and do stuff like that. It really freaks me out." Lloyd yapped once and put his front paws on the counter, craning his neck to see what was being cooked.

Lloyd yelped as a wooden ladle smacked across his nose, accompanied by Genis's shout off, "Off the counter, you dumb mutt!" The canine whined but obeyed, lifting one paw to lay across his stinging nose. Genis harrumphed and rinsed off the ladle before using it to spoon out a bowl of porridge for himself and another for his 'dog'. Lloyd happily dug into the warm mash, the fur on his muzzle soon becoming spackled with tan flecks. Genis rolled his eyes and ate his own breakfast quickly. When both of them had finished, the elf piled both of their bowls in the sink and began to pull on his shoes, in too much of a hurry to bother cleaning up right then.

"Come on!" he called, rushing out the door and into the bright street, halting a moment while his eyes adjusted. Lloyd used that moment to bound ahead, quickly followed by a faux-indignant, laughing Genis. The boy and wolf raced all the way to Dirk's house. Genis won, but only because Lloyd swerved at the last minute to pounce on a passing squirrel. So it was that the elf boy was red in the face and breathless from running and laughing when Dirk answered the sputtering knocks on his door.

"Hi Dirk!" Genis gasped, leaning on Lloyd's shoulder for support. "Did you… finish the… Keycrest…?"

"That I did," Dirk confirmed. "Just a minute…" the dwarf vanished back into the recesses of his house, returning moments later with a golden bracelet in his hands. It was carved with the same sort of designs that adorned Lloyd's half-bracelet Keycrest. "Here you go."

"Thank you so much," Genis finally caught his breath, though his face was still flushed. He began to rummage around in his pockets. "I know my wallet's in here somewhere…"

"No need," Dirk flapped a hand as leathery as a pterodactyl's wing. "This one's on the house. I won't be stealing from someone as can't support himself, and I was the one who offered to do it. But only this once, y'hear?"

"Thank you, Dirk!" Genis beamed. Lloyd tipped his head to the side. 'Can't support himself'? That was right, Raine was leaving today. Genis had no job, and therefore no source of income. How did they expect him to buy food? His boy couldn't live off raw deer like he could…

Reality suddenly set in with an audible _bump_. Red eyes widened until they threatened to pop. _His_ boy?! That hadn't been the first time he'd thought it, either. All morning, ever since he'd woken up, he'd been acting like a dog! Like a real, tamed wolf! Lloyd shook his head violently to dislodge any remnants of doggish thinking. He was a _human_, dammit! He couldn't afford to forget that.

The walk back to Iselia was peaceful for Genis, but unsettling for Lloyd. Every squirrel, every bird, every sound or movement sent him twitching, his wolfish half screaming at him to _chasechasechasechase_! It was maddening. He was _human_. Human. Human. Human.

Lloyd was still repeating the word to himself when they hit the halfway point back to the village. At that moment, the breeze shifted, now blowing towards them from the village. Lloyd's nose twitched, and he sneezed. That scent… it was tickling him. With an internal frown, the wolf-human lifted his head and inhaled sharply. It was smoke, he realized, coughing a little. Too much for chimney smoke. And mixed in it was the mouthwatering smell of burning meat…

Lloyd barked wildly, the fur along his spine and tail bristling and his exposed fangs dripping. Genis stumbled, staring at the ferocious beast where his goofy pet had been moments before.

"What's wrong, boy?" Genis looked down the trail, following the canine's crimson gaze. "Something in… Iselia?" His face went blank with shock. "The Desians! I forgot we broke the treaty! Oh no, Colette!" The elf took off as quickly as his legs could carry him towards the village, Lloyd pulling ahead of him easily.

The two reached Iselia in no time at all. Genis skidded to a shocked halt, too busy staring to see the tip of Lloyd's tail disappear around a corner. Iselia… it was burning. He could hear people screaming, could see Desians darting around between the burning and burnt husks of buildings with their weapons drawn.

After a few seconds, Genis shook off his funk. He had to find Colette! He sprinted off through the streets, dodging Iselians and Desians alike, neither of which paid him any attention. It wasn't long before he reached the Brunels' house. It was up in flames, just like all the others. Phaidra and Frank stood outside, watching their house burn with the transfixed horror of people who just couldn't look away. Genis felt a jolt of panic. Colette wasn't with them.

"Phaidra! Frank!" he shouted, digging in his heels. "Where's Colette? Is she okay? She's not…" a pause, a hard gulp, "…in _there,_ is she?"

"Genis," Phaidra turned. "Get out of here, boy. It's not safe for children."

"Colette!" Genis insisted.

"The Chosen departed this morning," the priestess imparted. "She deceived you so that you could not follow, knowing how badly you wished to accompany her. She left a letter for you… but it is ashes now."

"Oh," Genis was stunned. He wasn't sure whether to be relieved she was safely away, or hurt that she'd thought so little of him as to lie like that. He glanced down convulsively, and blinked. His wolf wasn't at his side like he usually was. Where had he gone? The elf looked around.

"Get out of here, Genis," Frank advised, putting an arm around Phaidra and beginning to lead her away. "It's not safe for anyone anymore."

"I have to find my dog," Genis said dumbly, turning and running deeper into the burning village. "Here, boy! Here!" he shouted, cupping his hands around his mouth and feeling ridiculous. If only he'd given the thing a name! "Here, boy! Please, where are you? Don't die! Don't you leave me, too! _Here, boy_!"

Genis didn't even realize he was crying until there was a sudden, hot draft of air as a nearby building collapsed, drying the moisture on his cheeks instantly. He paused to scrub at eyes that were burning from a combination of sorrow and smoke with his shirtsleeve.

A faint, familiar yap jerked his head up like a puppet on a string, searching wildly for the source. It had come from the main plaza, he was sure! He set off at a dead run, ignoring the smoke rasping in his lungs and the heat scorching his bare arms and legs. He came to the plaza, but stopped dead for a third time, staring.

The villagers had been rounded up and gathered here, in the center of the village. Around them stood a ring of Desian guards. In the center of the gathered Iselians was a man with turquoise hair, an eye-patch, and a golden tube in place of a right arm. A few Desian bodyguards surrounded him, too. Finally, Genis spotted his wolf among the hollow crowd of villagers, his tail straight up and his lips pulled back.

"Genis Sage! Come forth!" the turquoise-haired man called out. Genis swallowed hard. He had really messed up this time, hadn't he? The tears stung his eyes even harder, but he forced them back and stepped forward bravely, willing his voice to anger.

"You stupid Desians! Coming to attack our village again, huh?"

"What is he talking about?" one of the tube-armed man's bodyguards asked.

"He speaks nonsense. Ignore him," the man said dismissively. Then, raising his voice, "Listen up, inferior beings! I am Forcystus, one of the Five Desian Grand Cardinals. I am a superior half-elf who rules over the farm where we cultivate you pathetic humans."

_Half-elf…_ Genis repeated to himself, the familiar wave of shame and disgust washing over him.

"Genis Sage! You, one of our race, have betrayed your own kind and violated our non-aggression treaty!" Forcystus pointed an accusing finger at Genis. The boy went cold, as if every fire in the village had gone out at once. His secret… out. Shouted for all the village to hear, and from a Desian, no less. This wasn't how he wanted them to find out, if they had to find out. He didn't want this… "Therefore, I bring judgment upon you and this village!"

"What are you talking about?" Genis demanded, a little less firmly than he would have liked. "You attacked us first! At Martel's Temple. You tried to kill the Chosen!"

"Us, kill the Chosen? Hahahaha!" the Desian Captain next to Forcystus laughed. "I see now. _They_ must be after the Chosen."

"They?" Genis blinked. Then, angrily, "Don't try pretending it wasn't you! I saw the uniforms and everything!"

"For a superior half-elf, you really are stupid," Forcystus sneered. "No matter. The only thing that matters is that you, blood traitor, have been in contact with host body F192 and attacked our guards, as well as being seen in the presence of an escaped experiment."

"I knew that filthy animal would bring nothing but ill fortune!" the Mayor cried out. "And to think, you've deceived us all this time, you… you… _half-elf_!" Genis flinched, and Lloyd let out a kind of screeching howl at that, too enraged for a proper bark. The wolf became a streak of fur as he dashed around the perimeter of the circle to stop beside Genis, placing himself between the boy and Forcystus.

"You've done a good job disguising him," the Grand Cardinal squinted at the dog. "But leaving the Crystal out like that was the work of a fool. Now, prepare to face your punishment!" At the Desian's gesture, a monster lumbered around the corner and into the plaza. The blood drained from Genis's face. It was… grotesque. It wore a tattered white dress that was far too small for it, not that there was much need. Its skin was black and cracked with veins of blue, not unlike dried lava, if lava were turquoise. Its head was a thumblike appendage with no features or hair of any kind—only a blue sphere embedded in the pad of the 'thumb'. Its knuckles dragged on the ground, and it weaved and swayed as if drunk or in pain. It let out a screeching roar and lunged forward with surprising agility, right at Genis.

"Ah!" the boy fell back, throwing up his arms. There was no impact. He lowered his arms slowly, eyes widening. His wolf had protected him once more, throwing himself forward and fastening his teeth into the junction of neck and shoulder. The monster reached up and seized Lloyd around the middle, tearing the wolf from its neck and tossing him casually aside. Blue liquid trailed behind him from his jaws like a curving ribbon as he went spinning, crashing into somebody's porch. The wood, weakened by the flames, collapsed with a shriek like the monster's, sending up a flurry of sparks. The thumblike head turned to 'look' at Genis, who could only stare back. The monster lumbered forward.

There was a terrible snarl—so fierce that even the nearby Desians cowered back—and the burning house spat a bolt of fire at the monster. It reared back with a scream, more of the blue liquid spraying into the air from a gash torn across its chest. A few feet away, the bolt of fire spun to a stop, the flames dying down enough for Genis to recognize his wolf with a jolt of nausea. The canine's fur was smoldering, even burning in some places, and one of his ears had been torn on the broken wood of the porch, a trickle of red trailing from it as if in a futile effort to put out his singed fur.

Red eyes crazy with pain and hatred, the wolf let loose a short howl before throwing himself back at the monster. Genis scrambled to his feet and pulled out his kendama, galvanized by the suicidal charges his pet was making. He had to help, too. He couldn't just sit around and let more people die because of him… Especially not his brave, loyal pet dog.

…Even if he was as mad as a march hare and ten times as unnatural.

"Fireball!" Genis shouted, thrusting his wooden toy at their foe. The crackling orange spheres impacted the monster's wounded chest, causing it to stagger backwards, groaning. Lloyd leaped forward once more, tearing out a chunk of its arm. Foul blue blood that sizzled like acid filled his mouth. The wolf spat to get rid of the taste, eyeing his handiwork in satisfaction. The monster hunched over almost double, clutching its arm and seeming to pant, though it had no mouth. Genis cast Fireball once more. This time the attack sent the beast toppling backwards to the dirt. It lay still.

"Hah… hah…" Genis wiped the back of his hand against his cheek, panting loudly. Those spells had taken far more out of him than they would have if he hadn't been running back and forth all day. Unfortunately, from the way the Desians were looking at him, he would find himself running again much sooner than he would have liked. He couldn't fight an entire ranch on his own…!

"Lord Forcystus," the Desian Captain said. "Forgive me, my lord, but are you sure this is the animal…?"

"Of course it is, fool," Forcystus snapped. Then, to Genis, "Hand over the Crystal, traitor, and I'll allow your pet to live."

"I can't be a traitor if I was never on your side in the first place!" Genis slashed his hand horizontally in front of him, all his fear burned away to leave an anger that smoldered like the embers still coating his canine companion. "And don't you lay a hand on my dog! I'm not giving you Desians anything!"

"Why you…!" Forcystus began, striding forward and raising his arm. Lloyd—who had been rolling frantically on his back behind Genis to douse the flames—sprang upright and made to dart between them. He never got the opportunity, however, just as the Desian Grand Cardinal never had the opportunity to finish his sentence. As his foot hit the ground just a few yards away from Genis, there was a sudden blur of motion that resolved itself a moment later into the fallen monster. It had surged upwards to wrap long, bleeding arms around Forcystus, crushing him against its chest in a grotesque caricature of an embrace.

"Wha…?" Genis blinked.

**Run… away… Genis…**

"Wh-what?" Genis yelped. "That voice…! It sounded like… Marble…?!" Lloyd's head jerked up, his eyes going perfectly circular. No… Marble… Her Exsphere had made her a monster like him after all…

A groan echoed around them as the Marble-monster hunched further over Forcystus, who was thrashing with all his might to get free.

**Get away… hurry! Genis… you were like a grandson to me…** the blue hemisphere swiveled to stare right at Lloyd, strain now evident in its—_her_—tone. **Guard him well… Svafnir.** Lloyd jerked, opening his mouth as if to say something—as if he _could_ say something. **Goodbye…**

There was a burst of white light that blinded everyone watching, and an explosion that shook the ground out from under Genis's feet and—so it seemed—his eardrums out of his ears. Lloyd let out a prolonged whimper, his ears suffering far more than any human, elf, or combination of the two present. When Genis was finally able to crack open his watering eyes, the Marble-monster was gone. A circular patch of scorched earth marked the place where she had stood—in the center of which lay the limp body of Forcystus. Blood stained the already-blackened dirt, though it was impossible to tell whether or not he still breathed.

"…No!" one of the Desians shouted.

"Protect Lord Forcystus!" another added. The troop of soldiers rushed to their fallen leader, hoisting him onto their shoulders and forming a protective huddle that bristled with swords like an armored hedgehog. When no threat made itself apparent—both Lloyd and Genis staring numbly at the scorch mark, not paying them any attention—the Desians hurried away, presumably back to their ranch.

"M-Marble…" Genis whispered. Lloyd dragged himself to the boy's side. Genis buried his face in the burnt, reeking fur of the wolf's shoulder, fisting his hands in the animal's ruff. In this way, no one saw the tears that streamed down his face, though his whole body shook violently with his sobs. Lloyd looked down, trying to ignore the wetness seeping into his coat. After a moment, it became too much, and he tipped back his head.

A single wavering note soared like a firelit bird over the ashes of Iselia, darting up and down frantically as the wolf called out a clear, heartbroken message:

_Where are you?_

~ ~ ~~ ~ ~

Genis surveyed the town of Triet with a critical eye. It was a harsh place, he decided. Harsh on the eye as well as the body. All glaring yellow and orange and red—appropriate, perhaps, considering that they were situated near the Seal of Fire, but highly unoriginal. The squared-off buildings and coarse stone were a far cry from the cool earth tones and organic shapes of Iselia. Even if the dry wind hadn't sapped every ounce of moisture from the air that the sun let be, even if he did have hot, itchy grains of sand wedged in places previously thought impossible, even if he hadn't been braving it all alone with few supplies and a dog as irritated as he was, even then Genis would have preferred Iselia based on looks alone.

Then again, he thought with a sigh, it wasn't as if he was ever going to see Iselia again.

"_What have you done?! Look! Look what happened to our village! It's all your fault!"_

~ ~ ~~ ~ ~

"_I'm sorry…"_

"_You think you can fix this by apologizing?! And as if wrecking our homes and ruining our peace wasn't enough, it turns out you were one of THEM all along! Well I won't stand for it, do you hear me?"_

"_Grrr!"_

"_I should have known there was something not right about you when you brought that unnatural creature into our village. I've a mind to make you kill it and offer its Exsphere as an apology to the Desians for what you've done!"_

"_You…! You can't be serious! They're the ones who did this to Iselia, not me! They're the ones who tried to kill Colette! Come near my dog and you'll regret it. He's as much a victim as you are."_

"_See how he defends this beast? Just what I'd expect from a half-elf. If you won't repent, I have no choice. By the powers vested in me as mayor, I hereby announce the banishment of Genis Sage and his demon-wolf from the village of Iselia. Get out, half-breed…"_

~ ~ ~~ ~ ~

"…_and take that abomination with you!"_

Lloyd whimpered and nudged Genis's elbow, sensing the boy's melancholy. Genis forced a small smile and ruffled the animal's ears.

"It's okay, boy. I wouldn't want to live in a village like that anyway. And now I get to follow Raine and Colette, too!" his enthusiasm sounded fake even to his ears, and he quickly gave it up. With another sigh, the half-elf adjusted the small pack on his shoulders—all the mayor had allowed him to take with him—and stepped out towards Triet.

When they reached the central plaza, however, Genis quickly ducked back around the corner. It was crawling with Desians. Lloyd cocked his ears towards the knot of soldiers, listening.

"…an order from Lord Forcystus!" the one in front was saying. "A half-elf boy is on the run with a brown wolf. Form a cordon in all areas immediately."

"What does this boy look like?" one of the Desians asked.

"He's a short, white-haired kid who casts spells with a kendama. But he's not the one you'll be looking for. Lord Forcystus had ordered us to concentrate our efforts on recovering the Exsphere carried by the tame wolf that accompanies him," the leader instructed.

"What? A wolf with an Exsphere?" the Desians began to murmur.

"Quiet, all of you! Be grateful; this makes it that much easier to tell from every other brown wolf in Sylvarant. Dismissed."

"Yes, sir!" With this military bark, the Desians scattered in all directions, presumably to begin the search. Genis whistled softly.

"They're really pulling out all the stops, huh? Wonder what's so special about that thing…" he glanced down at the diamondlike Exsphere-bracelet. "Aside from the fact that it's on you, I mean. He called it a Crystal, didn't he?" Lloyd whined urgently. Genis shook himself.

"Yeah, you're right; we need to get moving. I hate to say this, but…" he bit his lip. "…I think it would be better if we split up. If I'm on my own, they're less likely to try something since it's you they want. And you… you're a wolf, aren't you? You can hide out in the wilderness where I'd just be a burden. It'd be even better if you could take off that Exsphere and give it to me—that way they can't tell you're _the_ wolf they're looking for."

Lloyd growled and shook his head violently, taking a step backwards. No way in Niflheim! If Genis took it off him now, he'd turn into 'Nix' right before the half-elf's eyes, and his secret would be out! Over a decade of secrecy didn't allow Lloyd to wonder whether or not it was that big of a deal anymore. All he knew was that no good could come of telling it to anyone.

Just look at what had happened to Marble.

"Okay, okay, I won't take it," Genis blew an exasperated breath. "But you're just making things hard for yourself. Howl if you get in trouble, okay? So I can come rescue you." He grinned. "And if I get in trouble, I'll send up a Fireball and call for you, so stay alert." Lloyd tipped his head to the side inquisitively. "You've got a name now, remember? Marble gave it to you…" Genis grew somber. "Svafnir. That's what I'll call you from now on, okay?" Lloyd sobered just as quickly as his friend.

Svafnir. It wasn't the first time he'd heard that name. It had been Marble's family's nickname for him after they'd discovered 'Nix' meant 'nothing'. They had immediately refused to call him that anymore, thinking it would lower his self-esteem. (Which, Lloyd thought, probably wasn't possible, but he'd played along.) Marble had come across the name Svafnir in a book and the family had come to a unanimous decision that it suited him—though they'd never told him why it was so suitable.

"_Come on, Vaf, you'll get wrinkles if you keep frowning like that!"_

A young girl's voice rang so clearly through Lloyd's head that he almost turned to look for its owner before remembering that she was in Palmacosta and he was in Triet. He shook his head irritably and turned back to his current companion.

"Meet me at the town entrance at sunset," Genis commanded. "Hopefully by then I'll have found Colette. Keep out of trouble. Bye!" The half-elf nodded once and jogged away, clearly trying to be cavalier. Lloyd watched him go worriedly. He hoped the boy didn't run into any trouble while he wasn't there to protect him…

Then again, this was the perfect opportunity for a number of things he'd meant to do for quite a while. He'd been a wolf for three and a half days now—counting this one and the one it had taken to travel from Iselia to Triet. That was far too long for his tastes. Who knew what the limit was before he couldn't switch back anymore?

His other business in this town, though, required him to be a human, so it worked out. Not to mention it would help him avoid the Desians looking for a wolf.

The canine slunk around the back of a wooden stall, burrowing deep into the shadows. In the bright desert sunlight, the flash from his Exsphere was almost invisible. A few moments and some deep, pain-controlling breaths later, a young man with shaggy hair and tattered clothes stepped out from behind the stall. He flipped his long hair out of his face and looked around, considering.

This was the town, he remembered, where he had sold his old blue Exsphere. The one that had apparently belonged to his mom. He'd chosen this town because of its lack of Desian ranch and its citizens' need for survivability enhancement in such a harsh environment. He had to buy it back, whatever the cost. It shouldn't be much… for a black-market Exsphere, it was nothing special. Even for such a plain jewel, however, he would need gald that he didn't have. The only logical conclusion being…

~ ~ ~~ ~ ~

"Thief! Someone just stole my wallet! Please, help me catch him!" Lloyd weaved frantically up and down the street, causing as much of a fuss as possible. Just as he had planned, the commotion combined with his moving body caused a buildup of people on that street, looking on with pity or contempt depending on the viewer. Almost every one of them put a hand to their pocket, their jacket, or their bag, checking to make sure _their_ wallet hadn't been stolen. Lloyd eyed the selection while continuing to bemoan the loss of his imaginary wallet. No… not that one… nor that one… There! A young man looking on with sneering contempt while the girl on his arm simply poured sympathy.

The brunet zigzagged right towards them, tripping over his own feet and smacking into the lady, who in turn brought down her boyfriend. All three youths struggled for a few moments before righting themselves once more.

"Why you filthy…! Watch where you're going!" the man snarled, positively livid.

"I'm sorry, sir. Did you see the thief?" Lloyd asked sheepishly, his eyes darting from side to side.

"Have a heart, Jed," the woman pleaded. Then, to Lloyd, "I'm sorry. I didn't see anyone."

"Thanks anyway!" Lloyd dashed off in affected hot pursuit. When he had put several streets between himself and the young couple, he allowed his hand to migrate to his pocket, fingering the contents gleefully. He had managed to snatch both the lady's wallet and the man's concealed one! It was a trick well-known to those with money: put out one wallet in your pocket or jacket where it's easily accessible to thieves while keeping the majority of your money in a smaller one stashed within your boot or hat or somewhere else difficult to reach. Lloyd had seen the slight bulge in the man's boot denoting the wallet's presence, though he had only touched his pocket to ascertain whether or not he'd been robbed. With any luck, they'd kick up a fuss about the woman's missing wallet (though hopefully not for a good while) and not notice the second theft until he was long gone.

The familiar guilt welled up inside him, banishing any traces of gleefulness. No matter how many times he stole from people, he never felt any better about it. It was wrong, he knew. People had worked for this money, while he had just swooped in and made their efforts meaningless, simultaneously creating more work for them.

_On the plus side,_ he made a conscious effort to force himself into cheerfulness, _I'm giving the militia a job. Now, to find my mom's Exsphere… _He cast his mind back, the corners of his lips tugging downward as he thought. He'd sold it to an old woman in the bazaar. A jeweler. She had been looking for a jewel to put into her latest necklace, he remembered, but hadn't had enough gald to buy a real one. She'd been about to settle for a glass gem when Lloyd—Nix, then—had come along willing to sell his Exsphere for far less than she would have had to pay for even a fake sapphire.

"No one needs to know it's not a jewel," she'd said, tapping her nose in a conspiratorial way. "Just let them assume that and I can make good money off this thing!"

Lloyd, being Lloyd (or Nix) and in dire need of food no matter the legality of this sentiment, had replied with, "Then what do you say to raising the price by ten gald?"

Both had been pleased with the transaction after a bit of haggling. Lloyd had bought a whole loaf of bread that night. That had been when he'd discovered that different towns had different methods of making bread, and when he'd vowed to discover every variety of bread out there someday. Quite the ambitious goal for a penniless orphan drifter, he'd thought then. And now look at him: on his way to aid the Chosen of Regeneration in saving the world by waking the Goddess.

In any case, he had to find that jeweler and hope that the 'jewel' had been recognized for the fake it was and thusly left unbought. The boy weaved his way through the streets towards the bazaar, keeping a weather eye out for Genis or Colette's group. Running into either one could be disastrous. Both Genis and his sister were more than smart enough to realize, given a little time, that they only ever saw 'Nix' when 'Svafnir' was gone.

_I seriously have too many names…_ Lloyd groaned internally, dodging around a man pushing a handcart full of obviously imported cabbages. _Heh. I used to only have one. Ah, the simpler days…_

Guided by his sketchy memory, the brunet entered the marketplace, scanning the stalls and shops for one that looked familiar. After a bit of searching and aimless wandering, his eye lit upon a small, square building with a green awning outside. That struck a chord. He stepped closer, plodding his weary way through the letters on the sign. He gave up halfway through. Maybe he really should have tried school back in Palmacosta… Whatever. The rough sketch of a jewel beneath the words was enough to tell him that it was _a_ jeweler's shop, if not _the_ jeweler's.

The boy pushed open the door and entered the shop, looking around blindly for a moment before his eyes adjusted. When they had focused, he saw that he was in a small room, far cooler than he had expected it to be. (Didn't the stone of the walls absorb the heat from the sun or something? Shouldn't it have been baking? School really was sounding better and better as time went on…) It was dimly lit by a few narrow windows that threw up tantalizing glitters from the wares on display beneath glass cases. At the back, a woman lounged on a chair behind the counter, examining a small rock through a pair of oversized spectacles.

"Excuse me…?" Lloyd approached her. The woman started and nearly dropped her rock. After it was safely placed atop the counter, she peered up suspiciously, looking a bit like an irritated owl.

"Yes? Can I help you?" despite appearances, her voice was smooth and pleasant—no doubt honed by years of customers that came first.

"Um, yeah," Lloyd nodded. This was the woman he'd sold his Exsphere to, without a doubt. Her hair was a bit longer and in a different style now, but those spectacles were unmistakable. "I came here a few years back—I doubt you remember." He lowered his voice. "I sold you a blue Exsphere that you wanted to pass off as a sapphire in a necklace of yours."

"Ah, yes," the eyes behind the spectacles grew even wider, so that their magnified irises seemed to take up the entire upper half of her face. "I remember that. Beautiful necklace… shame I had so little gald to finish it… but what is it you wanted?"

"I want to buy it back, if at all possible. If not, I want to know who you sold it to," Lloyd said firmly.

"You're in luck, sir. You came at just the right moment," the bespectacled woman rose from her chair. "It would appear that Exspheres are drawn to fuse with people a bit like magnets. It is fortunate I had the foresight to fashion a Keycrest as a mount for it, or else I would have had indirect manslaughter on my hands rather than just an angry customer. The moment the pendant came to rest on the woman's chest it went right into her…" the bug-eyed shopkeeper shook her head sadly. "A bad business all around. I would have been better off waiting… In any case, as I said, this was most fortuitous timing on your part. I have already made a deal to sell your Exsphere to another… though I am willing to give it to you instead… for the right price, of course." An ingratiating smile here.

"Of course," Lloyd said dryly, suppressing his anger. Not everyone possessed his sense of honor, he reminded himself. He pulled out his pouch of gald. "As you can see, I've got gald to spare. How much is this other person paying you for it?"

"A thousand gald," the woman responded promptly.

"I'll match that, then," Lloyd said.

"Well, sir, I'm not sure that covers it," the bespectacled shopkeeper replied. "After all, I'll have to deal with my disappointed buyer and, more likely than not, refund him. I would like to make a profit off this deal. You understand how it goes, sir."

"Eleven hundred," Lloyd offered. Uneducated he might have been, but money-handling and haggling were two essential skills he had been forced to pick up at a young age.

"Thirteen hundred."

"Twelve."

"Done." Lloyd stuck out his hand. The woman shook it gingerly between two fingers, her nose wrinkled as if she held a dead rat rather than a boy's hand. The boy in question withdrew it quickly and began counting out gald while the woman vanished behind a curtain into a back room to fetch the necklace.

"Here," she shoved the whole thing at him. "I don't have any use for the chain if there isn't a pendant. You take that, too, free of charge."

"You just fleeced me of two hundred gald over the asking price," Lloyd eyed her narrowly. "I wouldn't call that 'free of charge'."

"We do what we have to to survive, dearie," the woman shrugged, swiping the pile of money off the counter and into her safe box. "It's not like you were paying with your own gald, either."

Lloyd flushed red with mixed shame and anger. There was no reply to be made to this, so he simply snatched up the necklace and strode out of the shop with a stiff back. It was… he hesitated to use the word 'robbery', his guilt rising within him once more. Still! It just wasn't right to exploit peoples' ignorance like that!

…Goddess, he was a hypocrite…

Unthinkingly, striding along in a blind rage of indignation, the boy jammed the chain over his head to free his hands.

"_The moment the pendant came to rest on the woman's chest it went right into her…"_

Lloyd halted in his tracks, a bolt of pain striking his chest. It felt as if someone had just stabbed him, but when he looked down there was nothing… He froze, eyes widening. There was a soft flare of light, and it was done.

The Exsphere had attached itself to him.

"Oh, Goddess…!" his breath began to come faster, hands raising to all but claw at the jewel. "No, no, no! Not again, not another—" His thought was cut off before he'd voiced it as another, more urgent one took its place. _Another_? His hand… he already _had_ an Exsphere! Was it even possible to equip another?! What if it mutated him just like the one he already had, except this time he became something like the Marble-monster? Or what if it killed him, his body unable to handle the surge of mana coming from two amplifiers at once?

Just as he thought it, a… sensation began to radiate from his chest right down to his toes. It was like a toothache, only in his entire body. Not searingly painful, but nowthing like pleasant either. And no matter where he rubbed in an attempt to ease the ache, the discomfort migrated to another part of him. It lasted just long enough for Lloyd to seriously consider ripping the damn thing from his chest before disappearing entirely, suddenly, with no lead-up whatsoever.

That had been… odd. And terrifying. For now, though, he couldn't feel any other effects from it, either good or bad. When he reached up to brush his fingers against it, thinking again to remove it just in case, the Exsphere throbbed once, warningly. Lloyd retracted his hand and the orb grew quiet once more.

Well. It looked like he was stuck with it. The boy reached down and rearranged his shirt. The blue gem twinkled merrily where it was mounted just a little beneath the dip of his collarbone. Now that he was looking at it, he saw that the Keycrest the woman had made was oblong and silver, the slender chain of a similar material. It appeared to be working, to his relief. (Terrifying thought: would he _feel_ it if it began to suck out his life and make him sick like Marble? He didn't want to think about it…) His open collar hid it somewhat, but he'd have to poke some holes along the edges and find some twine or string to tie it shut with ASAP.

"Ugh, that woman!" he griped aloud. Luckily, the fusion and subsequent freak-out had occurred while he had been cutting through an alley between buildings that was devoid of people, leaving him free to complain to his heart's content, if only to the sun-warmed stone. "Sticking me with this damn thing… and for two hundred gald! Martel's blood, what was I thinking? Letting a greedy, miserable old bat like that take my money…" He stormed furiously to the other end of the alley, now working his way into a black rage. "Sweet maiden of eternal mist! Why, I should go back there and show her what it means to be poor. By Celsius, Sylph, and Shad—oh!"

The young man's monologue was cut off by a sudden mouthful of fabric—and not his own. The boy fell backwards to the dusty ground, slightly stunned by the impact. The stranger he'd collided with fell back slightly but didn't fall, most likely due to being twice Lloyd's size.

"I'm sorry, I wasn't looking where I was going," Lloyd apologized, climbing to his feet and brushing off the seat of his pants. He looked up, concerned by the stranger's silence. "Are you okay? Look, I'm sorry if I ruined your clothes or something. It was an accident." Silence usually meant one of two things: apathy, or speechless fury. If it had been the first, the stranger would already be gone, which left Lloyd with the second option. He didn't want to cause a scene… He peered into the stranger's face in an attempt to gauge the depth of his anger.

And stopped short, all the blood draining from his face. This man…

"I am fine," Kratos said. "Do not trouble yourself."

"Ah, good," Lloyd let loose a shaky laugh, attempting to cover up his shock. He almost hadn't recognized the mercenary now that he was seeing him in color! Now the man's hair and visible eye had been restored to their actual ruby sheen and his clothes now purpler and less indigo. Sweet hammer of godly thunder, couldn't he ever catch a break?! "Sorry, again. Have a nice day." He began to walk away, trying not to hurry and tip off the observant man.

"Wait a moment." Lloyd silently cursed the name of every Summon Spirit he knew as well as Martel and Mithos (who he usually didn't swear by), and even Derris-Kharlan for good measure before turning to face the waiting mercenary with a twitching smile.

"Yes?"

"Is that an Exsphere on your chest?" the man's quiet voice cut right to the heart of Lloyd's problems so efficiently that the boy nearly broke down in hysterical laughter right then and there.

"Yeah, why?" Where was this conversation going? Surely the man didn't recognize him from that brief moment in front of Iselia? They'd only seen each other for half a second, and he hadn't even had his mom's Exsphere then!

"Your name is Nix, correct?" Kratos guessed. "Or are you going by Lloyd now?"

"Either one is fine with me," Lloyd stated through a gritted smile. Damn. He _had_ been recognized. If he told Colette or Genis this could turn very ugly very quickly. Niflheim, he'd be shocked if Kratos didn't figure it out right here! Just in case, though, a little covering wouldn't help. "Do I know you?"

"No, but I am an acquaintance of your friends Genis and Colette from Iselia," the purple-clad swordsman answered. "They didn't mention you used an Exsphere, however."

"I didn't have it on then," Lloyd admitted. "But I do now, since I'm traveling."

"Dirk told you that it was your mother's," Kratos half-asked.

"Yes!" Lloyd's thin patience ran out. "You know, when I came to Triet I wasn't expecting random strangers to start quizzing me about my personal life. What is your issue?" Kratos blinked as if taken aback before covering half of his face with one hand, looking exasperated and amused all at once.

"Of course, you wouldn't know me…" he murmured. Then, removing his hand and meeting Lloyd's gaze once more. "Forgive me. In my eagerness I forgot that I am but a stranger to you."

"Implying that I'm not just a stranger to you?" Lloyd eyed the man askance, unable to imagine a person less eager-looking. Had he figured out the wolf-transformation? Maybe he'd known Lloyd as a toddler before his mother had died? That one made more sense than the first one, though if so he couldn't understand how the man had recognized him. Perhaps he'd put the pieces together after listening to Dirk? But that would mean…

"Did you know my mother?!" Lloyd yelped, realization striking like a thunderbolt. Kratos jerked like a landed fish, gaping. It was the most expression Lloyd had ever seen on the mercenary's face, though the boy paid it no attention in his excitement. He lunged forward and latched his hands onto the man's purple cape. "You must have! Please, do you know my surname? Or my father? Where is he? Is he alive? I know Mom's dead, but I don't know anything about him."

"Um," Kratos was off-balance for the first time in as long as the man could remember. He hadn't expected his son to put things together like that, and especially not for him to _grab on_ like he had… The enthusiasm, too, was a surprise. Not to mention the strings of oaths he had heard Lloyd swearing before they'd collided. He tried to recover himself, but only partly managed in the face of Lloyd's pleading eyes, as wide and liquid as those of a doe.

"Yes, I knew your mother," Kratos managed.

"Please, tell me more!" Lloyd interrupted.

"I was going to. Your surname is Aurion, though your mother's maiden name was Anna Irving," Kratos was interrupted by Lloyd's awed whisper of "Lloyd Nix Svafnir Aurion!" (whatever that meant) but forged ahead ruggedly. "And your father is both alive and nearby."

"Really?" Lloyd burst out. He glanced up at the sky, for once not pausing to marvel at its beauty. He had a few more hours still until sunset. He could afford to make a stop first. "Tell me where he is! Please!"

"You want to see him," Kratos did his half-asking thing again.

"Of course; he's my dad," Lloyd tipped his head to the side, puzzled by the almost-question. "I've got to yell at him for leaving me alone all these years and then make a _big_ dinner for him to apologize for it. Besides, maybe he really does want me now that I'm older and more useful. In that case, I'd finally have a home."

"'Older and more useful'?"

"He had to have abandoned me for some reason," Lloyd shrugged. "In general, people don't want a kid because they don't want to have to raise it or deal with it, not because the kid they have's got a bad personality or committed an unforgivable crime. It's a _kid_. Now that I'm not a kid anymore, though, he won't have to raise me or even really care for me if he doesn't want to since I can look after myself. I could even work to bring in gald for him. It's a win-win both ways—see?—even if he doesn't particularly like me."

"You…" Kratos was at a loss for words, again for the first time in a long, long time. He couldn't… that was… What was there to _say_ to a child who stated that he didn't care if his parents didn't love him? How did you argue with someone with such a severe case of abused-dog syndrome for a man he'd never even met?

"You have a very low opinion of yourself if your first thought is that your own father won't care for you," Kratos finished.

"Like I said, he had to have abandoned me for some reason," Lloyd repeated. "And I am generally despised by everyone I meet for being… what I am." Kratos assumed that the boy was referring to his status as a vagrant and, most likely, a thief.

"Perhaps he thought you had died in the fall alongside your mother," Kratos deadpanned, choking back the emotion rising in his throat as he defended himself to his son, who didn't even realize that this was what was happening. "Perhaps he arrived afterwards, after Dirk had already removed her body, leaving no trace of either of you save for the blood staining the earth?"

"Maybe," Lloyd's eyes kindled with a kind of tentative fire. He blinked hard to extinguish it and stomped violently down on the hope bubbling in his heart. "I can't think like that, though. It's too far-fetched. For all I know, my dad was the one who pushed my mom off the cliff. He must not have searched very hard if he didn't meet Dirk; and I'm sure Dirk would have mentioned it if he had."

"What would you do if your father had… killed your mother?" a hand seemed to close around Kratos's throat, the other around his heart. Lloyd's face turned thoughtful.

"…I don't know," he sighed finally. "I mean, it would depend, wouldn't it? Murder's never the right thing, but if it was an accident I could forgive him. If he was just a cold-hearted bastard then… I'd keep drifting. I don't think… I could ever hurt him…" Lloyd looked away, his grip on Kratos's cape loosening, his eyes full of imagined pain. The hands squeezed, closing off both the man's breath and his heartbeat at Lloyd's last statement. "I mean, he's my _dad_. He's the only family I _have_, and even if I had other relatives… you only get one dad, you know? If your dad can't love you like fathers should, then nobody can because it's not something anyone else can understand. Nobody could have that bond with you except your dad. Am I making any sense?" he laughed shortly. "What I'm trying to say is that dads are people, too; there's no sacred connection between a father and son that springs into being when the son is born. Either the father was a loving one before and always will be or he never was and never will be. I've got no divine obligation to him, either, but something within me just _can't_ hate him. I'm just that kind of person." He sighed deeply, depressed by the somber turn their conversation had taken. On the bright side, it had thoroughly killed the seed of hope Kratos had begun to plant within him.

"So will you tell me where my dad is or not?" the boy finally whispered, still not meeting Kratos's eyes.

"Lloyd," Kratos said. Lloyd looked up, shocked by the tone. Brown eyes met ruby ones, and an unspoken understanding flowed between them, lighting up the dim recesses of Lloyd's mind like a chocolate-colored flame lit behind his eyes. The leading questions, the blatant shows of emotion, the odd knowledge he possessed of Anna, the assurance that his father was nearby…

"_My name is Kratos."_

He'd never told them his last name, never even mentioned it…

"I am Kratos Aurion," the mercenary said now. "I'm… your father, Lloyd."

Lloyd stared at him for a few moments as if waiting for the punchline, his face going slack with shock. Gradually, his eyes took on a full, wet sheen. At the same time, a wild, ebullient grin spread uncontrollably across his face, alighting with joy. He let out a single near-hysterical chuckle before removing his hands from Kratos's cape in favor of throwing them around him and clutching tightly.

"Dad…!" the word was half a laugh and half a sob.

"Lloyd…" Kratos, after a moment—would nothing this boy did _not_ surprise him? Did he want it to?—gingerly lowered his own arms and wrapped them around the… _his son_. The arms grew tighter as Lloyd began to cry into his chest, his face losing the sharp edges it had held for upwards of a thousand years, particularly during the last fourteen.

At that moment, unseen by any save perhaps Martel herself, the blue and white Exspheres on Lloyd's chest and hand began to softly shine.


	5. Conflicted

**Kitty: Thank you all for your reviews! I think this story is starting to take off…**

**Zelos: Finally. So I won't have to listen to you whine?**

**Kitty: You're one to talk. **

**Zelos: At least my voluptuous hunny finally shows up in this chapter.**

**Kitty: -brains Zelos with a baseball bat- Stop that! You're gay in this fic!**

**Zelos: Oww!**

**Kitty: Now, come on, people. If I owned Tales of Symphonia, I wouldn't have to makes its characters gay with a baseball bat. They'd already be that way. Or… two of them would be, anyway. Oh, yeah, also. I'm ordering you right now not to pay too close attention to the fight scene with Sheena in this chap. I… never fought with her. I have no idea what her attacks are, least of all which ones she had when. **

**Zelos: …Enjoy… T.T**

~ ~ ~~ ~ ~

**Chapter Five**

**Conflicted**

"_A language universal, but I speak not its tongue_

_Is this a night that spins forever or a dawn that never comes?_

_I've traveled in darkness for what seems like days_

_I come from the sinkholes collapsed under this weight_

_I know not your sorrow, but I know mine_

_Just say you'll stay and dance with me tonight."_

—_Rise Against, 'Tonight, We Dance'_

"Look out!"

The shout came just a moment too late as Ktugach's blazing tail whipped around to strike Lloyd across the chest. The canine flew several yards before crashing and skidding along the stone floor, too surprised to even yip. He struggled to his feet as Genis, who had tried to warn him, thrust his kendama forward and cast Aqua Edge. The blades of water sizzled out against Ktugach's hide, momentarily dimming the flames, but not doing much else. Still, the only other spell Genis knew was Fireball, and that _healed_ Ktugach.

The Guardian of Fire was shaped vaguely like a smilodon of monstrous proportions. Its fur was crimson red (or forest green, though Lloyd highly doubted it) except for the hedge of blue spines that ran along its spine from the base of its skull to its hindquarters, stopping at the base of its long, reptilian tail. Like the tiger it resembled, Ktugach's sides were striped—not with color, but with blazing bands of fire.

Kratos darted forward while the monster was distracted by Lloyd and Genis, his sword carving a new set of stripes into the flesh. Ktugach swiped at the swordsman, enraged, but Kratos was too swift for it. Lloyd jumped in to sink his fangs into the tail that had struck him, holding on despite the searing flames that burned his mouth and tongue. Ktugach roared in pain, and then again as one of Colette's chakram shredded one of its ears before whirring back to its mistress in an elliptical orbit. Lloyd spat out its tail and threw himself at its side, clawing and biting as best he could. Half of his efforts were lost in the fur, and the other half in flame. He was just too small to fight it! Then again, fighting hand-to-hand with a being engulfed in flames probably wasn't the most well thought-out plan to begin with…

Lloyd, hating every moment, dropped back and let Genis, Colette, and Kratos take care of it. He had faith in his friends… and father.

Father.

"_The sun is setting…"_

~ ~ ~~ ~ ~

"…_I have to go now, Lloyd."_

"_Can I come with you?"_

"…_I don't think it would be wise. This Journey is dangerous… it's no place for one who cannot fight."_

"_Oh, okay…"_

"_I'll come back for you when it's over. Find somewhere safe and _stay there_ until I come and get you."_

"_When will that be?"_

"_I don't know. A year, perhaps."_

"…_And what after? Do you have a home, or do you drift like me looking for work?"_

"_I have no place to call home. But after this Journey… I think I can make one."_

"_I understand. I'll wait however long it takes. …Stay safe… Dad."_

"_You too…"_

~ ~ ~~ ~ ~

"…_my son."_

Ktugach fell to the ground with a thump that shook sand and dust from the walls and ceiling, even as high as it was. A moment later, the body dissolved into orange specks of brilliance that shot upwards to go out like dying sparks. Kratos sheathed his sword and stepped back, idling while Colette stepped up to the altar and began to pray. He didn't bat an eyelid when Remiel reappeared, nor did he pay much attention to their conversation. He had too much on his mind.

Much too late, he realized that he had never established with Lloyd exactly _where_ he would find the boy after the Journey. It wasn't as big of a problem as it might have been, however; Kratos fully expected this journey to take them to almost every city and town in Sylvarant. He was bound to visit the safe haven that Lloyd had chosen at some point, unless the boy went back to Iselia, in which case there was no need to search anyway. And Kratos could always find him in whatever city he happened to be in by following his mana signature.

Ah, yes. His mana signature. One of the many things that had caught Kratos by surprise about his son was the sheer amount of mana he was leaking out like a wet sponge. It was incredible… far too much for any human, much less an adolescent one! One of Kratos's secret fears had always been that somehow, having an angel for a father would corrupt his genetics in some way. Was this his fear coming to life? If so, it was far less horrible than he had imagined. A surplus of mana would simply mean that Lloyd was an abnormally strong person in body, spirit, and mind. He would rarely sicken, and if he did he would recover quickly. He would live longer than his fellows (though not nearly as long as Kratos) and would be much healthier than them no matter how he ate or exercised. Kratos had been imaging something more along the lines of sleeplessness, inability to feel or eat, or even… wings.

Just as the thought crossed his mind, there was a surge of mana from the altar where Colette spoke with Remiel. Kratos looked up to see the girl floating several feet above the ground, courtesy of her new wings. They looked much like Kratos's own wings—fragmented and crystalline—though hers were a bright yet soft shade of pink where his were clear blue. Remiel ascended while Colette descended, and the first Seal was broken.

Genis ran up to Colette eagerly, gushing over how cool her wings were. Raine watched with an expression of mixed pride and sorrow. Both half-elves' eyes were riveted on the glowing appendages sprouting from the Chosen's back. Because of this, none but Kratos noticed when Genis's wolf suddenly folded in on itself in… pain? The wolf uncurled a moment later and sprinted out of the chamber as quickly as it could run, pink flashes shooting up from something reflective on its paw.

The others soon decided it was time to move on and did so, trooping out of the Temple in a loose bunch. When they had reached the top of the stairs, however, there was a sudden commotion. Colette, between one step and another, abruptly collapsed. Kratos could hear her labored breathing from where he stood as well as smell the sweat on her skin and see the purple tinge her lips had acquired. Angel Toxicosis. Everything was proceeding to script… except for that damn annoying wolf.

Later, Kratos glared across the campfire at the offending animal. No matter how he tried, he could find no hidden agenda that would necessitate sending a beast—no matter how intelligent—after them. It was beginning to irk him. Perhaps it really was just an escaped Desian experiment… no. There were no coincidences, and this was no exception to that rule. He just wasn't looking in the right places.

"Stop staring at Svafnir like that," Genis spoke up. Kratos's gaze jerked to him reflexively, to be met by an ice-blue glare. "You're unsettling him." A quick glance back proved that, indeed, the animal was squirming and shuffling its paws like a naughty child under Kratos's intense scrutiny. He hadn't noticed.

"Svafnir?" Colette's voice was hoarse and weak from where she lay on a pallet besides the fire. Glazed blue eyes shone in the flickering light as she turned her head, determined to attend to the conversation so as not to worry anybody. "Is that what… you've named him?"

"Sort of," Genis glanced away, troubled. "Marble called him that, before she…" The sentence was left hanging.

"Svafnir," Raine repeated softly. "It's an old word… I'm certain I've heard it before…"

"It means 'one who puts to rest'," Kratos supplied disinterestedly.

"Rest?" Genis was scornful. "That's a stupid name."

"'Rest' here having the connotation of eternity—meaning death," Kratos finished.

"Oh," Genis blinked. "He who puts to death, huh?" He glanced at the wolf beside him. The animal was staring into the fire with the absent intensity of one thinking very deeply about something they were not looking at. "He hasn't killed anything except that one Desiank, though. It's too fierce for him."

"Marble may not have known what it meant," Raine offered.

"Then why would she just randomly name my dog for me?" Genis folded his arms. "Maybe she knows something we don't—about the name or the wolf."

"That last would not be difficult," Kratos said, "Since we know _nothing_ about the wolf other than the fact that it has somehow developed an attachment to you, Genis." The wolf looked up sharply, glaring.

"I know that he understands every word you're saying about him," Genis retorted, slinging an arm over the furry back of his pet. "Leave him alone, will you? I'll admit it's a little suspicious, but what would he be here to do that he couldn't have done already?" Everyone around the campfire nodded in tacit understanding that he was referring to sabotaging the release of the Seals (with the exception of Colette, who nodded enthusiastically and thought of the stray dogs that sometimes cuddled against you just to get a piece of food before running off).

The conversation petered out from that point, and it wasn't long before Raine and Genis were wrapped up in their own bedrolls, well on their way to sleep. Lloyd lay down beside Genis and laid his head on his paws, but didn't feel sleepy in the least. Tired, yes. His wounds from the fight with Ktugach stung, and he felt emotionally wiped out from the ups and downs of the day. And yet no heaviness weighed down his eyelids or limbs, and he had no desire whatsoever to relax and drift away.

Evidently, he was not the only one. Colette rose from her pallet some time later, coughing slightly as she did so. Kratos, who had elected to keep watch that night, looked at her questioningly.

"I'm just going for a walk," she said. "I won't be long."

"Are you sure going off alone is a good idea?" Kratos stated rather than asked. Lloyd, deciding that even displaying more of his unnatural intelligence was better than this mind-numbing sleeplessness, leaped to his paws and bounded to her side, yapping once.

"I'll have Svafnir with me," Colette smiled. "I'll be okay. Come on, boy."

Girl and dog wandered over a dune so that the camp was hidden from their sight, and them from its. Colette continued onwards, following the gentle _hssssh_ of the sea. She paused at the edge of the expanse of water, the incoming waves stopping just inches from the toes of her shoes. She clasped her hands out of habit and stared across the beautiful vista without seeing it. Lloyd whined and nudged her leg, worried. She glanced at him, smiling distantly, but returned to her not-sea-gazing a moment later.

Lloyd took the opportunity to indulge in one of his own favorite pastimes. The canine's hindquarters hit the ground with a thump and he tipped his head back as if to howl, though no sound issued from his muzzle. Instead, bloodstone eyes gazed with wonder upon the vast vault of the sky. Little splatters of stars clustered across it, covering the entire thing with speckles of contrast interspersed with the occasional smear of hazy color. Points of light winked and sparkled down at him, and Lloyd let out a shaky exhalation. No matter how many times he stargazed, its beauty struck him anew every time. It moved, it changed, it breathed… the sky was just as alive as the earth, but no one seemed to realize it. It struck Lloyd as unfair that he had never heard of a Summon Spirit of Sky. Wind, yes, but wind didn't necessarily mean sky. It just meant moving air. The sky was so much more than air…

"…Ugh," Colette's cough reeled Lloyd's attention back to earth as surely as a kite on a string, his head dropping to stare worriedly at the girl, who had put a fist up to her mouth to stifle the noise. She lowered her hand when the fit had passed and gazed at it with blue eyes as dark as the cobalt sea, as dark as the space between the stars, as dark as despair. "What's happening to me?" she whispered.

Lloyd tipped his head to the side. Did she mean the sickness her transformation had brought on, or her new wings? If she'd meant her wings, Lloyd might have been forced to kill her. Just on principle. He really would kill to have wings. Or maybe not kill—his _morals_ wouldn't allow that—but certainly he would do almost anything short of that. He wanted to fly up to greet the sky he so loved, to bask in it and play in it and see the world spread beneath him like those maps that he had traveled by, way back before he'd memorized the locations of all major towns. Just being carried by Colette—if she even could carry him; he came up to her waist!—wouldn't be enough. He wanted to feel the muscles in his back and chest pumping. He wanted to do it of his own power, to work for that wonder and let it make him stronger. He wanted to prove to himself that even a warped monster could find peace with itself. He wanted to _fly_, Aska damn it all!

Instead, Lloyd padded forward and shoved his cold nose into Colette's palm. The girl startled a little before reaching out to rub behind his ears, her face melting into a smile just as his melted into bliss. Neither one, it seemed, was at peace with themselves. Neither one would resolve their issues that night. But there, under the limitless sky, both girl and wolf discovered a small measure of peace in finding that among all the pain and suffering the world had to offer, it was still possible to smile genuinely, look up at the moon, and hope for the best.

~ ~ ~~ ~ ~

A full day of walking led to a similar scene around the campfire as the previous night. Raine kept watch this time while Colette and Lloyd curled around each other, glancing into each others faces every now and then to check that neither one of them had fallen asleep. Genis slept like a rock, and Kratos gave the same appearance.

The morning after that second sleepless night, however, they came to Ossa Trail. The Trail was more of a pass than a trail, with cliffs rising up on one side and dropping away on the other. Lloyd looked around himself dully, wishing he had human eyes with which to view it. They had come to a bend in the path where the trail curved around to run through a cleft between two cliffs. The trail widened, dropping away to their right and rising up to their left, carpeted with grass and dotted here and there by trees. None of this, however, was the reason for Lloyd's melancholy.

The way things were now, the whole place just looked like a dull yellowish color to him. The grass looked like the trees looked like the dirt looked like the cliffs. Lloyd sighed. It was all so boring… so lifeless…

As if summoned by his thought, a sudden movement on the trail ahead of them resolved itself into a spot of bright color. A young woman, Lloyd saw, dressed in a vibrant purple tunic and darker blue leggings, tied up with a yellowy-brown sash. Her hair was a splash of black ink among the parchment-colored cliffs, bouncing slightly as she slid one (purple) boot forward and raised her arms in an aggressive stance. Between her fingers, small blue cards flashed.

"Stop!" the girl shouted. The company obeyed, more because she was blocking the pass than because she had told them to. In his rapture at finally seeing something on the blue spectrum, it took Lloyd a few moments to realize that this girl didn't look at all friendly.

"Is the Chosen of Mana among you?" the purple-clad young woman demanded. She seemed to be taking great pains to twist her face into a mask of fury that still looked more like someone who had just stepped on a slug than someone who intended to kill you. Kratos, however, took the threat seriously, half-drawing his sword in warning.

"Oh, that's me!" Colette chirped, evidently heedless of the belligerent woman's attack pose.

"…Prepare to die!" the brunette girl snarled, surging forward right at Colette. Kratos's sword cleared its sheath with a ring, but even he had clearly been caught by surprise. Lloyd, though, was much closer to Colette, and so in a much better position to leap at the attacking girl, letting out an earsplitting bark. Several things happened in quick succession then.

Colette, startled by his sudden movement so close to her, jumped backwards. Since it was Colette, however, she tripped over her own feet, toppling over with a cry. One of her windmilling arms struck something hard and inorganic concealed within a tall bush. The blonde hit the ground hard at the same time as a metallic click that echoed off the rocks.

The purple-clad young woman's face fell as her leading foot sank through what had seemed to be solid dirt a moment before. Still, her momentum carried her forward, and she would have made it had Lloyd not, at that moment, crashed right into her chest with all the force of a galloping horse. Both woman and canine vanished into the hole that had opened up beneath them, shout mixing with yip, united in their shock.

There was a moment of silence as those still aboveground blinked at the space where the girl had been moments before. A faint crash could be heard from the dark square, causing everyone except Kratos to wince. Colette climbed to her feet and ran to the edge of the hole, peering worriedly into it.

"Oh no! What should I do? I did it again…" the girl trailed off.

"Don't worry about it," Raine reassured her. "If she had not fallen in, you might have been killed. Though I am a bit worried about Svafnir…"

"I hope he's okay!" Colette fretted. Genis joined her at the edge, cupping his hands around his mouth.

"Hey, Svafnir! Are you okay?!"

A faint whine echoed up the tunnel.

"That's good, at least," Genis sighed. "That woman's probably alive, too. How are we going to get him up?"

"It would be best if we moved on," Kratos advised. Genis rounded on the mercenary, his hands on his hips.

"I'm not just leaving my dog behind, you jerk! What if he broke his leg in the fall?"

"Then he would only slow us down anyway," Kratos ruthlessly replied.

"This is a maintenance passage for the mountain path," Raine hurried to break up the budding argument. "It has to come out somewhere. If we continue onwards, we are bound to find another entrance through which he can escape."

"Fine," Genis glared at Kratos once more before turning back to the tunnel and yelling again. "Hey, Svafnir! Keep walking, we'll meet you at the other end of the tunnel!"

"You idiot!" Kratos yanked Genis away from the edge by his collar. His expression was livid. "Now that assassin knows where to find us! She will undoubtedly make another attempt on Colette's life. Do you want your friend to die?"

"Let go!" Genis yanked away from his grip. "Svafnir and I can protect Colette even if you can't! Or do you think one girl can overpower all three of us at once? Isn't your _job_ to kill people for money?"

Kratos opened his mouth, presumably to shout again, but was cut off once more by Raine.

"That's enough, both of you!" the half-elven teacher stepped between her brother and the mercenary. "At this rate, we'll stand here arguing all day. Let's just keep moving."

"As you wish," Kratos snapped, spinning in a swirl of purple to lead the way through the pass.

"Don't antagonize him, Genis," Raine said, giving the man's back a suspicious look. "I don't trust him much either, but we must rely on him. Even Svafnir cannot protect Colette from everything." She hurried after Kratos before the mercenary got too far ahead, leaving a fuming Genis jogging to keep up. Colette came up beside him, laying a tentatively reassuring hand on his shoulder, only to be shrugged off. Genis did not want comfort right then. So, with a sigh, the Chosen trailed after her companions, wishing she didn't cause so much trouble for them.

~ ~ ~~ ~ ~

Lloyd hit the ground with a grunt, all his breath whooshing out of him from a combination of the dirt against his back and the girl draped across his stomach. The girl scrambled off him in an instant, most likely worried that he would tear her limb from limb at any second. Lloyd rolled over and pushed himself shakily to his paws, shaking his head dazedly. How far had they fallen? He looked up, but the distance was almost impossible to gauge in such darkness. Some light filtered in from the square of brilliance far above them, but not much. This alone told Lloyd that they had fallen quite a long way.

"Ugh…" the assassin at his side groaned, clutching her head. "Why does this always happen? Damn it…" Lloyd glanced at her curiously. Up close, she seemed much younger than she had when blocking the way. Or maybe that was because she had dropped her 'angry face', her expression now taken up by a much more genuine mix of frustration and uncertainty. She glanced back, feeling the wolf's gaze on her, and gulped, obviously wondering if he was going to attack.

"Hey, Svafnir! Are you okay?!" Genis's voice dropped down the shaft just as Lloyd had a few minutes ago. Lloyd looked up at the double silhouettes above him and whined loudly. His head hurt, but he was otherwise fine. What worried him more was the girl. Should he kill her? She was trying to kill Colette… But it seemed wrong to do it now, in such cold blood. He looked back at her. She was still regarding him fearfully, her hand creeping towards the pouch on her sash in a way that suggested she was trying not to make any movements that would provoke an attack. Lloyd applauded her caution, but it was useless here. He wasn't going to attack.

The wolf rolled his eyes at her and sat, lifting one leg to scratch at his ear. He had gotten dirt in it when he fell… When he looked up again, she had frozen in place, no longer reaching for her weapon, but not anything like relaxed either. Lloyd sighed deeply and dropped to his belly on the ground, flipping over to grin and wag his tail at her.

"A tame one, huh?" she breathed. When her voice didn't seem to elicit a negative reaction from him, she slowly leaned forward and, even more slowly, reached out to scratch his stomach. Lloyd's tail thumped harder, his face glazing over in ecstasy. The assassin giggled and straightened.

"Okay, at least that's one less thing to worry about," she began. At that moment, there was another commotion from above them, and Genis's figure appeared at the hole once more.

"Hey, Svafnir!" he called. "Keep walking, we'll meet you at the other end of the tunnel!" Lloyd yapped in response, but Genis was already gone. The girl looked thoughtful.

"The other end of the tunnel, huh? I've got another chance, then…"

Lloyd growled shortly. The girl jumped and looked at him with wide eyes. Lloyd snorted at her and began to pad away down the tunnel. After a few moments, the sound of rushing footsteps announced the girl's reappearance. She slowed once she had reached his side, looking down with an odd expression.

"You're really smart for a dog, you know that?" she asked rhetorically. Lloyd looked up and yipped softly. She blinked, nonplussed. "Wow. That's a little freaky." Lloyd rolled his eyes, further creeping the girl out.

"Are you a Summon Spirit?" she tried. Lloyd twisted one ear negatively. "I don't suppose Sylvarant has an Elemental Research Laboratory, otherwise I'd guess you were a new experiment of theirs," she thought aloud. Lloyd cast her an odd glance. That was an odd thing to say… Implying that she _wasn't_ from Sylvarant? But that was impossible. Maybe there was still dirt in his ear. "Well, whatever you are, my name's Sheena," the girl introduced herself. "That boy called you Svafnir, right? Odd name. In any case, if you're guarding the Chosen, that makes us enemies."

Lloyd growled shortly. This time, Sheena was comfortable enough that she didn't even flinch. "Yeah, I don't like the idea of taking you on either. I wish it didn't come down to this, but if I don't, so many people are going to get hurt…" she glanced away, back and Lloyd, and suddenly burst out laughing. "Man, I must be losing it. Here I am, pouring my heart out to a dog! It's not like you can talk back…" Her laughter was cut off abruptly as a thought seemed to strike her. "Hey, that's it! Corrine, can _you_ talk to him?"

Lloyd yelped and jumped as a sudden puff of smoke appeared right in front of him. A little fox with multiple tails and a bell around his neck emerged from the smoke, his head tipped to the side curiously.

"I'll try," the fox said in a squeaky little voice, further startling Lloyd. The fox yapped a few times. The part of Lloyd's brain that was a wolf processed the noises and the fox's body language and translated it. _What are you_?

Lloyd twisted an ear and rumbled lowly. This form of communication was not unfamiliar to him. Occasionally, along his travels, he had encountered dogs or other wolves and had the opportunity to converse with them. He didn't do it much since canines rarely had anything interesting or useful to say, and because it scared him a little that he could speak in this 'language' so instinctively.

"He says he's a wolf," Corrine reported.

"Ask him what kind of wolf he is," Sheena ordered. Lloyd looked at her and yawned, swishing his tail and whining once.

"He says he can understand you just fine," Corrine giggled. Sheena blushed. Corrine listened for a moment more before saying slowly, "He also says he's the kind of wolf that will kill you if you try to harm his friends."

"Friends?" Sheena was surprised. "Not masters or owners?"

"Nope," Corrine denied. After a moment of 'conversing' with Lloyd, he added, "He decided to help them because they helped him."

"You're really smart for a wolf," Sheena said to Lloyd, directly this time.

"He's got an Exsphere," Corrine noted. "Maybe that's what makes him so smart."

"Probably," Sheena agreed. Then, frowning, "I didn't know it was possible for animals to equip Exspheres."

"Me neither," Corrine flicked his tails uneasily. Just then, the trio paused. The tunnel had branched off, running in two opposite directions. Sheena cursed. "Which way?"

"I smell fresh air up that one," Corrine pointed with his nose. Lloyd yipped agreement and began trotting down the indicated passage, his tail up, eager at the thought of meeting up with his friends again. He didn't like leaving them all alone in the wilderness, no matter how much faith he had in his father's abilities. Sheena followed without arguing, trusting Corrine even if she didn't trust him.

The rest of the walk was made in silence. Lloyd was conflicted. Sheena didn't seem like a bad person to him… but she was trying to kill Colette! Colette was his friend, and she wasn't a bad person either. He didn't want either of them to die, but if he _had_ to make a choice…

_Argh, what am I supposed to _do?! He griped internally. Before he could come to any conclusions, the air around them began to lighten. Lloyd ran ahead, eager to reunite with Genis and put this confusing problem behind him. He had only been running for a few minutes when he came to a bend in the tunnel. Skidding around it, he found himself practically on the threshold of the tunnel. Blocking the way was an old barrier made of rotted wood. Lloyd growled and head-butted it, the wood falling away with a screech of breaking splinters. He leaped over the fallen heap triumphantly.

Coincidentally, no sooner had he emerged into daylight than Colette, Genis, Kratos, and Raine came around the bend in the path. Lloyd rushed forward to meet them with a joyful yip. Genis's face lit up when he saw the canine, fell a little when he realized he wasn't stopping, and finally shifted to shock as Lloyd plowed right into the half-elf's chest, knocking him to the ground. Hard.

"Ah! Stop it! Stop it!" Genis shouted and squirmed beneath the heavy wolf as he licked all up and down the boy's face. By the time Lloyd consented to letting Genis get up, the half-elf's face was covered with saliva, which he wiped on his sleeve with a disgusted look. "Jeez, I was only gone for, like, half an hour!" Lloyd paused and tipped his head to the side. Had it only been half an hour? Man, he really was becoming more and more doggish as time went on… He really had to watch that. Even so, he pranced over to Colette with a wagging tail and licked her hand happily before rubbing his side against Raine's leg. He wanted to do the same to Kratos that he'd done to Genis, but highly doubted that he'd come out of that situation alive. He settled for a fond look, not daring to get any closer.

"W-wait!" Sheena called, having just emerged from the tunnel herself. Corrine was nowhere to be seen. Colette's face lit up upon seeing the brunette.

"Oh, thank goodness!" she smiled. Lloyd sighed. Only Colette…

"D-don't move!" Sheena was clearly trying to catch her breath from the run through the tunnel after Lloyd. She brought out her cards and took an offensive stance once more, her face tiredly attempting to resume its stepped-slug-intent-to-kill expression. This time she only managed to pull off 'mildly disgusted'.

"A wise decision," Raine said.

"…I won't be caught off-guard this time!" Sheena said after a moment, apparently deciding to disregard the teacher's comment. Her eyes, though, lingered on Raine, noticing her for the first time. Before, she'd only been paying attention to the Chosen and the swordsman… She shook herself and resumed her slackening posture. "Prepare to die!" The young woman dashed forward, and this time there was no trapdoor to stop her.

Lloyd hesitated as Kratos jumped forward, sword slashing. The woman performed a graceful somersault, coming up on his unprotected side and driving her palm into his kidney. The man's knee shot up to catch her in the chin, and she dove backwards, back into range of his sword. Kratos took full advantage of this fact, his blade becoming a whirring net of steel around her. The woman jumped and dodged as best she could, but every now and then a shallow cut would appear on her arms or torso.

To escape, Sheena launched into a double backflip that took her several yards out of his reach. Almost before her boots had touched earth, her hand was whipping out, sending a card zipping towards the mercenary like a dart.

"Pyre Seal!" she barked. The card exploded into flames, causing Kratos to fall back, one hand up to protect his face while he coughed from the plumes of smoke that curled around him. Sheena exploded through the cloud, her foot aimed at the mercenary's head.

The girl let out a very un-intimidating shriek as something large and furry crashed into her side, knocking her from the air as surely as… well, a girl hit by a hundred pounds of leaping wolf. Sheena bounced, her head smacking into the ground painfully. Lloyd, on top of her, hesitated, unsure. He didn't want to kill her! But when he'd seen his dad about to get hit like that he'd just acted without thinking. Now what was he supposed to do?

His hesitation cost him. Sheena's hand snaked out quick as a whip, slapping a card or seal of some sort onto the animal's side. It exploded a moment later, sending Lloyd rolling end over end off to the side, his fur smoking. He faintly heard Genis shout, though most of his brain was taken over by the agonizing burning in his side that didn't diminish even after the flames were gone. Dull red eyes cracked open to see Sheena up and fighting Kratos once more.

"See how you like it!" Genis yelled, fireballs spinning from the tip of his kendama to explode all around Sheena, showering her with sparks and smoke. As she coughed, blinded, Kratos's sword shot out to score a much more substantial hit on her arm. The girl skipped backwards, out of range once more, blood pouring down her arm. She clutched it with her good hand, panting heavily. Her face was littered with tiny cuts, and her stance was hunched over with pain and exhaustion.

"Ugh…" she grimaced. "Just you wait! I swear I will kill you all next time!" There was a puff of smoke, much as there had been when Corrine had appeared, and Sheena was gone. Genis immediately ran to Lloyd's side. The wolf had rolled painfully onto his belly and was attempting to stand on legs that trembled like a newborn foal's.

"Here," Raine came up beside her brother, raising her staff. "First Aid." The green mist cooled and dulled the burning in Lloyd's side, though it didn't go away entirely. The wolf twisted to lick vigorously at the afflicted area, wincing as his tongue rasped over the barely-healed burns.

"He'll be fine," Raine reported. She turned slightly to address Kratos. "Are you injured?"

"Not so badly to need healing," Kratos said, sheathing his sword. "We should go."

"Why was that woman trying to kill us?" Genis asked as the group began to move off again. "She didn't look like a Desian…"

"There are always those that reject salvation," Kratos answered ambiguously. The topic was not reopened, though Lloyd would have had a few things to say had he been able to talk. Sheena couldn't be a bad person. She was trying to protect her friends, just like Lloyd and Colette and Genis and Raine were doing. That was never a bad thing, though there were bad ways to go about it.

Lloyd sighed heavily. He knew better than anyone that dogs weren't truly colorblind and yet, at that moment, all he could see were shades of gray.


	6. Despised

**Kitty: Thank you, all of you, who reviewed! (All the chapters, I mean, since only accident prone—who, by the way seriously rocks—reviewed last chapter.) This one's got a few 'character origin' flashbacks in it to explain the missing years in Lloyd's life. Unpleasant, maybe, but necessary. There's some oyako, too.**

**Zelos: Speaking of which…**

**Kitty: Yes, I do have something to say about the oyako. What can I say, I'm an opinionated person.**

**Zelos: Just get it over with.**

**Kitty: I'm glad you all liked the little father-son moment in chapter four. I personally didn't like it. At all. There's not nearly enough oyako on this site, something that is not helped by the fact that half of the oyako you do find goes something like this: something bad happens to Lloyd, Kratos is there to save/comfort him, and Lloyd cries in Kratos's arms. Seriously. Lloyd cries in Daddy's arms in almost every one of them. It irritates the hell out of me. **

**Zelos: This chapter contains no crying. It also contains plot and characters that belong to NAMCO, not YearOfTheKitty. All she owns is that white Exsphere/Crystal and the idea of wolf!Lloyd.**

**Kitty: Review and enjoy!**

~ ~ ~~ ~ ~

**Chapter Six**

**Despised**

"_It's a long, long road_

_But I'll always come back to you."_

—_Ryan Cabrerra, 'Always Come Back to You'_

Lloyd was as on-edge as it was possible for a living being to be. They had arrived in Palmacosta after a brief stint in Izoold and a boat ride. The town was as familiar to Lloyd, even as a wolf, as the back of his hand. He scanned every passerby, looking for the two faces he least wanted to see, yet wanted to see more than anything in the world. He was barely even conscious of his current companions as he padded behind them, so fixated was he on his past ones.

So it was that when Colette suddenly cried out, toppling backwards, Lloyd sprang nearly a foot in the air, bristling and snarling with shock. He calmed somewhat when he realized the girl had only bumped into another dark-haired girl around the corner of a building. A broken bottle was leaking its contents into the earth as the dark-haired girl's companions stepped forward to help her up.

"Owww! What did you do that for?" the girl whined as she stood.

"Oh, I'm sorry," Colette apologized as she followed suit. The girl's hand went to her purse, meeting nothing. She glanced down and saw the broken bottle and the dark stain around it.

"Ahh! The Palma Potion that we just received!" she exclaimed in dismay.

"What's the big idea?" a short boy with brown hair that was shaved close to his head stepped up angrily. "That was a really valuable potion!" At his side, a small terrier dog yipped and wagged its tail happily. Lloyd bent down to sniff it, raising one metaphorical eyebrow.

The dog panted at him. He was happy traveling with his people, even if they did strange things. Lloyd cocked his ear, asking what strange things. The dog yapped and scuffed a paw. They were going from people-place to people-place gathering small shinies. He didn't know what the small shinies were for, but along the way he got to meet some very interesting dogs.

Lloyd looked up, thinking. What could this group be doing, collecting money from villages? Maybe they were missionaries or working for a charity fund.

"I'll buy a replacement potion right away," Colette was promising.

"Huh," the kid crossed his arms. "You better, or I'll be seriously mad."

"Oh, come on!" Genis exclaimed. "She promised to replace it. What's your problem?"

"Do you know who we are?" the kid demanded.

"No, and I don't care, either!"

"Why, you…!"

"Stop," a tall woman with a pointed hat interrupted the bickering children. "I'd like to leave here as soon as we can. Don't start any unnecessary trouble."

"I agree," the brunette nodded.

"Huh," the kid said again. "Fine! Just go get that potion!"

"Don't bother, Colette," Genis countered. "They're just a bunch of jerks anyway."

"No, I ran into them, so I have to pay for it…" Colette insisted as firmly as Colette did anything.

"Fine, then," Genis glared as they moved past the other group, turning his head to continue glaring after they were past. Lloyd, on the other hand, was looking forward with dread, every inch of his body going cold. Colette was looking around for a shop… There was only one shop nearby… And, sure enough, a moment later the blonde was leading the way gleefully towards a building advertised as Marble's Shop. Lloyd hung back, trying to conceal himself behind Raine as they entered the shop.

He immediately came out when he saw who else occupied the room. Three Desians stood before the counter, arguing with a young brunette in a yellow dress behind it. Yellow had always been her favorite color… She'd been wearing it that day so long ago…

"_What are you doing?"_

~ ~ ~~ ~ ~

"…_Chasing butterflies?"_

"…"

"_Why are you out here in the woods?"_

"…"

"_Where are your parents?"_

"…_Don't have any."_

"_Oh, so you do talk. Well, maybe I can be your mom."_

"_You're smaller than I am!"_

"_So? Don't you want a family?"_

"…"

"_Come back with me."_

"_Wh-whoa!"_

"_You'll like my house. It's really my grandma's, but Mom and Dad and I live there, too. We have this little shop beneath it that Grandma runs herself. We…"_

"_Hey! Chocolat! What are you doing with _him_?"_

"_He's my new son. I'm taking him home with me."_

"_My mama says to stay away from him. He stays out in the woods and plays with animals, and when he comes into town all he does is steal. He never talks and he wears those weird clothes. I bet he's just going to steal from your grandma's store."_

"_He wouldn't steal from his great-grandma, would you?"_

"…"

"_See? He's a good boy."_

"…_You're just as crazy as he is."_

"_Exactly. Come on, don't listen to this brat. Let's go."_

"…_Nix."_

"_What?"_

"…_I'm… Nix."_

"_Nice to meet you, Nix. I'm Chocolat. You can call me Mom, though!_

~ ~ ~~ ~ ~

"…_Now come meet your new family!"_

"Oh, please!" the childish voice of the past clashed with the girl's older, more mature (if not by much) voice. "There's no way anyone would sell those to you at a price that low!"

"You should be thankful that we're even willing to spend money for goods from a rundown shack like this," the leading Desian snarled back.

"I don't need to hear that from a bunch of filthy Desians!" the girl's temper flared, just as it had so often before. "I'm not going to sell one single gel to the likes of you."

"Chocolat, stop!" the middle-aged woman behind the girl pleaded.

"But Mom, these are the same monsters that took Grandma away!" Chocolat protested.

"You've got some nerve talking to us like that, little girl!" the Desian stepped forward threateningly. Unnoticed by anyone, Lloyd began to bristle angrily. "You keep that up, and we can't guarantee what'll happen to you or this city!"

"Just try it!" Chocolat shot back. "As long as Governor-General Dorr is around, we'll never submit to the likes of you!"

"You little…!" the Desian's face went mottled with rage, and he reached for the sword at his hip. At that moment, Lloyd could take no more. They would not get away with threatening Chocolat and Cacao!

The wolf jumped forward, landing on the counter between the girl and the Desians, puffed up and showing every one of his glistening teeth. A loud snarl ripped its way from his throat, giving the Desians pause. Lloyd barked once, his message clear to even the humans: _Get out_!

"We won't forget this!" the leading Desian said as he and his companions began backing towards the door. "Your little guard dog can't protect an entire city!" And with that, the Desians fled.

"You're… back?" Chocolat's startled whisper came from behind Lloyd. The wolf turned, dropping his aggressive stance to lick Chocolat's face once. "Ew, gross!" the girl squealed.

"Hey, down, boy!" Genis approached the counter. "I'm sorry about that. Those Desians deserved it, though." Lloyd hopped obediently off the counter to sit at Genis's side.

"Oh, is that… _your_… dog?" Chocolat asked. Lloyd nodded slightly, pleading with his eyes. _Play along_!

"Yeah," Genis nodded. "Why, do you know him? When I found him he was a stray…"

"Yeah, he used to come around the shop sometimes looking for scraps," Chocolat improvised. Then, with a wicked smile, "He never seemed like the brightest of dogs, though." Lloyd winced. Like grandmother, like granddaughter.

"I've got to go to work now, Mom," Chocolat said.

"Take care," Cacao told her daughter as the brunette made her way around the counter.

"Mind if I borrow your dog for a little?" she asked cheerfully, seizing one of Lloyd's ears as she passed, dragging the wolf out the door after her before Genis had time to protest. Lloyd stumbled after the girl down the street and around the corner, until she finally released him. Chocolat rounded on Lloyd with blazing eyes, her hands on her hips.

"And just where have you been, huh?" she demanded. "We really needed you this year, and you never showed up! And what's this with the Twerp Troupe?!" She waited impatiently as light engulfed the canine before her, her eyes softening slightly when he reappeared slightly hunched over and clutching his abdomen in pain.

"I'm sorry," he finally said.

"You'd damn well better be!" Chocolat flared.

"Some things happened," Lloyd looked off to the side. "I met the Chosen and her friend, and they were so nice to me… I wanted to help them."

"Oh, that's real nice of you," the girl clenched her fists, blinking back tears. "And while you were off doing Martel-knows-what, those dirty Desians took away Grandma! We needed you, Vaf!"

"I didn't know," Lloyd defended himself weakly, the nickname nearly bringing him to tears as well. "I swear, I would have been here in a heartbeat! I would have torn the ranch apart! But I… I didn't know…"

"Stupid Svaf," Chocolat sniffed, leaning forward suddenly to wrap her arms around him. "I miss you when you go away. Why can't you just stay?"

"You know why," Lloyd returned the hug, his mind drifting back.

"_I have to leave, now."_

~ ~ ~~ ~ ~

"…_I've stayed too long as it is."_

"_Why? Why can't you just stay here with us? Grandma and Mom don't mind…"_

"_We have this conversation every time, and every time it's the same answer. If I stay too long in one place, they're bound to find out, just like you did. The townspeople already hate me. If they found out what I am, I'd be lynched within a week."_

"…_Wow, Vaf, you used the word 'lynched'…"_

"_I'm serious, Co-co."_

"_You make it impossible to take you seriously when you call me that. You know that Grandma, Mom, and I would protect you. We'd never let them hurt you."_

"_I'd hate myself even more if any of you got hurt because of me. You're my family."_

"_Still think I'm your Mom, huh?"_

"_I outgrew that forever ago, Co! You're like a little sister to me, and Cacao's like a mom. Marble's more like a schoolteacher than a Grandma…"_

"_That's only because you're stupid."_

"_Chocolat!"_

"_Uh-oh, you only use my full name when you're really upset… Fine, Svafnir, I'll let you go this time. But come back soon, okay? I worry about you."_

"_Don't. I'm more than able to protect myself. I promise, I'll be back with the spring tourists."_

"_Ever the juvenile delinquent, eh, Vaf?"_

"_Always and forever…_

~ ~ ~~ ~ ~

"…_little sister."_

"They don't know, do they? Your new friends," Chocolat subsided into sulkiness. "Your _new_ family."

"Don't start that," Lloyd said faux-sternly. "You know you're my only family. Well… I'll get to that in a minute. No, they don't know, so don't spill the cocoa beans, okay?"

"Okay," Chocolat brightened at the old pun, rolling her eyes at the same time. "You really never change, do you?"

"More than you will ever know," Lloyd laughed. He began to walk Chocolat to her work. Along the way, he told her everything that had happened since he'd last seen her, skipping over Marble's fate and just saying that they'd gotten into some trouble and been banished for it. Chocolat was enthralled, rejoicing with Lloyd for his new name and identity. Though she wasn't too pleased about his new father.

"That sourpuss in the corner?" she frowned. "I don't like him. He's too… stoic."

"And we all know you're the authority on character," Lloyd said, offended.

"I found you, didn't I? Anyway, it's wrong that he doesn't know about you. You've got to tell him sooner or later, and if you tell him later he might flip out even worse because you lied to him," Chocolat advised.

"Yeah, that'll be a pleasant conversation," Lloyd snorted and crossed his arms. "Hey, Dad, how're you? By the way, your newfound son is a freak of nature that can turn into a wolf at will because of the Exsphere that he was apparently born with on his hand? Oh, and recently he's equipped _another_ Exsphere just to see if he'll survive the experience. It apparently prevents him from sleeping. Cheers."

"I wouldn't phrase it that way," Chocolat deadpanned. "But something along those lines."

"You're impossible!" Lloyd threw up his hands.

"Hey, we didn't reject you, did we?" Chocolat reminded him.

"Yeah, but you're a very special kind of people," Lloyd replied.

"And don't forget it, Lloydie-boy!" she giggled. "Well, I'd better be going now. I'm late as it is. If I don't see you at least once more before you leave, I'm going to hunt you down and turn you into a fur coat. Bye!" The yellow-clad girl skipped away to the church, beaming merrily. Lloyd shook his head and laughed slightly. Same old Chocolat. He turned away from the plaza. Maybe he'd visit Cacao before returning to his friends. She had to be broken up about the loss of Marble…

He stumbled backwards suddenly.

"Oh, I'm sorry! I seem to be bumping into everybody today!" a familiar voice chirped. Lloyd blinked in shock at the small group arrayed before him. Oh, no…

"Nix!" Genis barreled forward, coming to halt in front of the boy with hands akimbo, much as Chocolat had earlier. "You stupid idiot! You left without even saying goodbye, you jerk!"

"G-Genis…" Lloyd stuttered.

"I'm so happy to see you're okay!" Colette broke in smilingly. "I was worried about you without a weapon."

"It was reckless of you, leaving the village like that," Raine put in disapprovingly.

"I-I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" Lloyd apologized, waving his hands to ward off their assault of 'welcome'. "Really!"

"Why did you leave?" Genis demanded.

"I had to," Lloyd said helplessly. "I can't stay anywhere for more than a day or so. It's just how I am…" _Oh, Genis, if only you knew…_

"That's no excuse," the half-elf argued.

"W-well… Hey, you went on that journey after all, huh?" Lloyd grinned at him. "Good for you, Genis."

"Yeah…" the younger boy trailed, frowning. He didn't remember telling Lloyd about that… Maybe Dirk had mentioned it.

"Anyway, it was really nice seeing you all again," Lloyd began, meaning to make a tactful exit as quickly as humanly possible. This was just plain uncomfortable… and besides, now if they ever saw him again, they'd think he was stalking them! It was impossible to avoid seeing them for an entire year. Man, he'd messed up really early this time…

"Governor-General Dorr!" a cry cut off the rest of Lloyd's evasion. He turned curiously, seeing the child who had called out and recognizing him as Timothy Conbert, one of a gang of children that had thrown stones at him the last time he'd been in Palmacosta. In front of the little monster stood the Governor-General himself, looking just as hale and hearty as ever, his daughter Kilia by his side. Kilia… Lloyd frowned. She looked subdued, for some reason.

"Dad was taken away to the ranch and hasn't come back," Timothy continued. His strident voice cut across the whole plaza. "Even though I've been a good boy!"

_Heh_, Lloyd thought angrily, _serves you both right!_ Mr. Conbert hadn't been any nicer than his son.

"_Take that, monster!"_

~ ~ ~~ ~ ~

"_Ow!"_

"_Ha, serves you right! Mom says you're a dirty urchin who should go to the ranch so us with families don't have to! Hyah!"_

"_Oww!"_

"_What's going on here?"_

"_That boy tried to steal my gald, Mr. Conbert!"_

"_I-I didn't! I swear! He's lying!"_

"_Silence, brat! How dare you try to steal from the honest folk of this town? I ought to have you arrested!" _

"_N-no! Mom!"_

"_Nix! Are you okay?"_

"_He threw stones at me, Co-co…"_

"_Why you…! He's just a kid! How can you stand by and let him do that?"_

"_The brat deserves it. He's a freak, an orphan, and a thief. He should be thrown out of Palmacosta."_

"_Come on, Nix, we're leaving. I can't believe jerks like you run this town."_

"…_Co-co?"_

"_Yeah?"_

"…_Am I… a monster…?"_

"_No, Nix! Never! Did they call you that? I'll knock them to Tethe'alla!"_

"…_But if I'm not a monster… why do they hate me…?"_

"_Mom says people hate what's different, but I don't know about that. Some people are just jerks, I guess, and they'll never change. Don't let them… Nix! Don't cry! What's wrong?"_

"_I…"_

~ ~ ~~ ~ ~

"…_hate them so much, Co-co…"_

"…go, Kilia," Dorr was saying. He and his daughter turned away from the reassured Timothy, who skipped back home in high spirits, buoyed by the Governor-General's promise.

"Who was that?" Genis asked.

"Governor-General Dorr," Lloyd responded, smiling slightly. "He's a great guy. He's gathered a bunch of people to resist the Desians around here."

"Who was the little girl with him?" Colette questioned.

"His daughter, Kilia. Her mom died of an illness a while ago, so Dorr's raised her on his own. Everyone around here loves him. As long as he's around, they'll keep on fighting the Desians," Lloyd beamed proudly. He, too, loved Governor-General Dorr, even if the Palmacostan people weren't his favorite people in the world. "He's our inspiration."

"You talk like you live here," Genis pointed out sulkily, evidently still upset with him.

"O-oh? I used to, for a while, but I had to move on…" Lloyd looked away and scratched his face. "The people here don't like me much, so I never stay long, but it's the place I know best."

"Well, I think we should speak with this Governor-General before we leave," Raine decided. "It was nice seeing you again, Lloyd." She strode across the plaza.

"Bye," Genis said shortly, spinning on his heel and following his sister.

"I hope we meet again," Colette smiled and hurried after her friend. Kratos alone lingered. The young man fidgeted slightly under his father's intense look.

"So… this is the place you've chosen to stay?" he asked.

"Yeah," Lloyd nodded.

"I see," Kratos began to say something else, but he was cut off by the approach of a woman a bit older than himself who was looking around distractedly.

"Excuse me, you haven't seen my boy Timothy around here, have you?" she asked, still scanning the plaza.

"Yes. You just missed him. He went that way," Kratos inclined his head in the direction the child had taken. The woman's face creased with relief, turning to smile gratefully at the mercenary.

"Oh, thank you, I…" she stopped, eyes widening. Her face twisted. "You!" she spat. "I thought we'd finally run you off for good!"

"Good to see you, too, Mrs. Conbert," Lloyd sighed.

"Well I never!" the woman huffed, looking down her nose at him. "Scum like you are the ones that should be going to the ranch instead of my husband!"

"Ma'am," Kratos broke in, his voice dangerous, "I don't think that was called for."

"You're new around here," Mrs. Conbert said scornfully. "You don't know this boy. He comes around every spring to steal from the tourists and townsfolk. _Smirking_ at us when we tried to help him, hanging around all sorts of diseased animals, corrupting the children of this town… I wouldn't be surprised if his parents had purposefully abandoned him to the wolves. He…"

"That's enough," Kratos cut in sharply. Crimson eyes flashed dangerously. A fierce wave of protective possessiveness rose through the man, stronger than anything he'd felt since Anna had died. "I would advise you to stop talking about _my son_ that way before I lose my temper. Leave."

"You…!" Mrs. Conbert gaped, flabbergasted. "He's an orphan!"

"Not anymore," Kratos snapped. "I thought I told you to leave. Now."

"I never…!" the woman turned and flounced away with her nose in the air, clearly unwilling to tangle with an angry Kratos.

"Fighting back makes them hate you more," Lloyd pointed out. "And you just pissed off the local gossip-mill. Looks like you're going to get the same reputation I've got by the end of the evening."

"Why would you come back to this place?" Kratos wondered.

"When you aban—I mean, I was really small," Lloyd attempted to phrase it tactfully, seeing Kratos wince. "I didn't survive in the wilderness on my own _all_ that time. Some nice Palmacostans took me in for a while, until I was old enough to start really traveling on my own. It's the closest thing to a home I've got." He shrugged, trying not to sound as hopelessly pathetic as he felt. "Anyway… it's just for a year, right? You've still got a lot to explain, so you'd better hurry back."

"I will," Kratos almost—_almost_—smiled at the abrupt change in subject. His son was strong, just like his mother. The almost-expression was banished a moment later as his eyebrow curved upwards. "…'Diseased animals'…?" Lloyd colored bright pink.

"I… _really_ like dogs…" he mumbled, scuffing his foot. "Hey, shouldn't you be, like, catching up to the others? Now?"

"Yes," Kratos really did smile now, unable to hold it back at the boy's obvious embarrassment. "I'll come back for you, Lloyd."

"Okay, Dad," Lloyd nodded. "I'll hold you to that." Kratos nodded back and turned away, striding towards the trio that had just emerged from the building. Each of their faces was stamped with identical expressions of frustration, and the Sage siblings began talking animatedly the moment Kratos reached them. The group vanished into the chapel in a knot of bright colors and loud voices. Lloyd sighed to see them go and made his way to the closest alleyway.

A few minutes later, Genis cried out in surprise as he was greeted once more by a flying bundle of fur and tail and slobber that knocked him back just as he emerged from the church. The wolf yapped happily and chased his own tail a few times, frolicking around the group and licking any part of any of them that came close enough—even Kratos. Colette laughed outright while Genis groaned, Raine stifled a smile, and Kratos scowled. Lloyd grinned back at them and led the way forward with his tail high and his ears forward.

"…_I hate humans so much…"_


	7. Martyr

**Kitty: I may or may not have mentioned this already, but just in case, here it is: I screw with distances. Purist gamers might hate me, but I do. It's just… how in the hell does Lloyd see an attack on Palmacosta from Hakenosia Peak and then get there BEFORE THE ATTACK IS OVER if they're almost a whole peninsula apart? It maketh the no sense.**

**Zelos: This update was inspired by Khelc-sul Renai. **

**Kitty: Yep. I was going to wait but his (her? Sorry, I read your whole profile and I still can't tell… -.-") reviews gave me the will go to on! Even if you'll probably hate me for this one… As always, I, YearOfTheKitty does not own Tales of Symphonia. If I did, one of the things I WOULDN'T have changed was the Zelos-hugging-Lloyd sprite. ^^ (It should tell you something that they even have one of those!)**

**Zelos: …I would say 'enjoy', but some of you might see that as sarcasm after this chapter. And Martel knows I wouldn't want to be sarcastic… So try to enjoy to the best of your abilities in spite of it all.**

**Kitty: (Have I scared ya yet? :3)**

~ ~ ~~ ~ ~

**Chapter Seven**

**Martyr**

"_I'm trying hard to breathe now_

_But there's no air in my lungs."_

—_Three Doors Down, 'Changes'_

Lloyd couldn't keep his promise to see Chocolat again before he left. The wolf winced at the thought of the punishment that awaited him the next time he visited. He was going to be turned into a fur coat… He barely registered their brief stop and conversation with a caravan of gypsies, too busy imagining gruesome deaths at the hands of a young girl in a yellow dress—though in most of his daydreams, it was splattered with red. That night, for the first time, Lloyd was grateful for his lack of sleep; it meant that he couldn't have nightmares.

Noon the next day found the group arriving on Hakonesia Peak. This time, Lloyd stared at his paws the entire time his friends argued with Koton, his mind on a very different girl. Sheena… They'd met her again in the House of Salvation. It had been short, and not much had happened beyond Colette's strange, Colette-ish attempt at friendship and an exchange of names. What bothered Lloyd more was what he'd heard Sheena praying when they'd walked in. His ears were much better than a human's, so he was sure the others hadn't heart it, but she'd said "Grant me the strength to do my duty. If I don't, Tethe'alla will suffer. Please, help me save everyone".

Tethe'alla? The _moon_? This woman was the strangest person he'd met to date, including Chocolat. Was she an alien? It made no sense, and yet it was still the most logical conclusion he could come to. What was her _deal_?

"…away from Palmacosta." Lloyd's head snapped up, his surroundings registering for the first time in several hours. They had gone back out onto the mountain path, where a bunch of people were gathered, peering anxiously over the edge of the cliff at the town below.

"Why? Did something happen?" Raine inquired.

"It seems the Desians are headed for Palmacosta!" a woman replied.

"What?" Genis gasped. Lloyd's mouth flopped open along with his. What would possess the Desians to do such a thing? The city's militia would stop them for sure.

"Plus, they say the leader of the nearby human ranch, Magnius, is with them," one man said seriously. The wolf's mouth snapped shut as shock was replaced by anger. That Magnius… he was the one who had taken away Marble, wasn't he? Well, he wasn't going to hurt Chocolat or Cacao, or General-Governor Dorr, or Kilia, or Neil, or any of the other townspeople! Lloyd was going to teach that half-elf what happened when you messed with _his_ territory!

With a soundless snarl, the wolf sprang forward. Wide paws thudded rhythmically against the ground, settling into a stride that he could keep up for hours on end—days, if need be. At this rate, he'd reach Palmacosta in a few hours.

"W-wait!" Lloyd glanced over his shoulder, seeing a flash of white and blue from the corner of his eye. It was Genis, stumbling and tripping and straining as hard as he could to try and keep up with the wolf. Lloyd growled softly. That idiot! He couldn't keep that up… he'd just hurt himself trying.

"Uwah!" the half-elf's foot hit a larger rock, sending him sprawling forward with his hands outstretched before him. One hand hit something and closed around it instinctively.

Lloyd let out a sound that was half yelp and half howl as something seemed to yank his tail out by its roots. Genis, for his part, dared not yell, since he was now sliding down the mountain path on his face, every rock and bit of grit scraping along his front painfully. He reached out his other hand while pulling harder on Lloyd's tail—eliciting a pained howl—to grab a handful of the fur on the wolf's rump. With much howling on Lloyd's part and grunting on Genis's, the half-elf boy managed to drag himself over the canine's back, draped across him with his feet hooked over the wolf's hipbones and his hands buried in the thick ruff at his neck.

"Whew!" Genis panted. "You don't stop for anything, do you?" Lloyd yapped once in irritation, his butt stinging horribly. Genis sighed. "Yeah, sorry. At least this way, you won't be alone when we rescue the townsfolk, right? The others are probably way behind us…" he trailed off and, without a second party to sustain it, the conversation died out.

With nothing to occupy his mind—except doing his level best not to buck Genis off his back with every leap—Lloyd's mind was left to worry endlessly. Was Chocolat okay? And Cacao? They had to be so worried… Chocolat's dad had been killed a few years earlier in a fight against the Desians. It was actually just after the funeral when they had begun calling him Svafnir. He'd never gotten to hear Chocolat's father call him by it… And Chocolat had looked so odd in black instead of her sunny yellow…

Lloyd shook his head as he ran. He couldn't think like this; he was only depressing himself unnecessarily. Cacao and Chocolat would be alright. He wouldn't let it be otherwise. Palmacosta, too, if he could at all help it. Full as it was of stupid, prejudiced humans… Lloyd growled softly and pushed himself to run even faster. Genis's fists tightened in his fur, his knees digging in harder.

It was only a few hours of steady running later that Lloyd arrived at the town. It was nothing to him—wolves were endurance runners. He could have kept that pace up all day if need be. Even if Kratos, Raine, and Colette had been running, they would still have arrived a good hour or so after Lloyd and Genis had. The wolf paused at the town entrance to allow his passenger to slip off with a small gasp. Lloyd curled his lip. The place was swarming with Desians… just like Iselia. In this case, though, nothing was being burnt and no one was being killed. Instead, the Desians appeared to be searching for something, scouring the town for whatever it was, dragging people out of their homes to search, accosting those attempting to flee and questioning them aggressively.

"There it is!" someone shouted out. Lloyd's ears shot forward, half-recognizing the voice. "That's the animal with the Exsphere!" Lloyd took a step back as a knot of Desians approached, clearly heading for Genis and him. One of them was familiar…

_Aha!_ Lloyd realized. _The nasty one from Marble's Shop! He must have seen my Exsphere when I scared him off and reported it back to Magnius…_

The wolf butted his head brutally into Genis's side, sending the boy stumbling forward with an exclamation of shock. Hoping that his message had been conveyed, Lloyd spun and charged in the opposite direction. He had to get away from Genis—they were after him, not his friend. The half-elf didn't need to get involved in this. Besides, he was useless at close quarters…

A thought struck the wolf as he dodged around a heap of belongings that someone had tossed out of the door of someone else's house and left in the street. He ducked into the nearest alley and dove behind a pile of rubbish. Hopefully, the trash concealed the play of rainbows that shone out when he transformed. A moment later, still slightly opalescent, Lloyd emerged from the heap on two legs, hunched over with pain. A little blood seeped out of his arm where he'd nicked it on a broken spar of wood in the junk pile.

At that moment, the troop of Desians thundered around the corner into the alley. They stopped dead when they saw Lloyd, peering around suspiciously.

"You, there! Inferior being!" one of them barked. "Where did that wolf go?"

"Over there!" Lloyd pointed over the back of the alley, injecting a whine into his voice. "It jumped so high. I was really startled! It even bit my arm…"

"Move!" the Desians rushed forward, shoving Lloyd to the side. He fell, flailing, onto the trash pile. And that, he though bitterly as the Desians clambered over the fence, was just what he was to them: another piece of trash. It was what he was to everyone in this damn place… Why had he wanted to save it, again?

Oh, yeah. Chocolat and Cacao. Lloyd stood, brushed off the worst of the grime, and jogged in the direction of Marble's Shop. Now that he was human again, the exhaustion was catching up with him. He was tempted to drop to all fours as he often did when trying to move quickly, but refrained on the fear that he would meet up with one of the Regeneration Group while in that position. That would raise some odd questions for sure.

Lloyd found the ground floor of Marble's Shop empty. He tripped lightly across the polished floors to the stairs. At the top, he found his progress blocked by a makeshift barricade made of bookshelves and beds.

"Stop right there, Desian!" Chocolat's voice rang out bravely, despite the slight quaver in it. "Or I'll bring this whole thing down on your head!"

"Ca-Co, it's okay, it's just me!" Lloyd called, using the shorthand he had come up with as a child for the mother-daughter duo.

"Svafnir?" Cacao's voice was tight with worry. "Climb over the shelves, dear. Quickly, now!" Lloyd complied easily, wondering exactly what they thought such a shoddy barrier would keep out. Flies, perhaps?

"Vaf—I mean, Lloyd!" Chocolat embraced the boy briefly yet fiercely. In one hand, she held a length of wood that had once been the leg of a table but was now a homemade club. "I'm so mad at you for leaving without saying goodbye, but I'm so glad you're back!"

"I'm not missing anything else," Lloyd promised grimly. He'd missed so many important things—Marble's disappearance foremost among them. He wouldn't abandon his family when they needed him ever again. "I'll protect you."

"Wait!" Cacao caught his sleeve, sensing his intention. "How many times have you transformed today?"

"Um, just this once back to human," Lloyd blinked. "Why?"

"You shouldn't use that gem too much," the woman advised seriously.

"Cacao, I've been using it almost daily for over a decade," Lloyd reminded her gently, disentangling her hand from his clothes. "Nothing's going to happen."

"But now that you've got a second one…" Cacao began. She stopped when Lloyd patted her hand comfortingly and gave her a reassuring smile.

"I'll be fine, Grandma," he teased.

"Chocolat," Cacao said with a perfectly straight face, "shove your son back over the barrier would you?"

"With pleasure!" Chocolat rushed forward to jokingly begin pushing the brunet towards the upended bookshelves. Lloyd laughed and fought back. Before long, the two young ones were play-wrestling and laughing wildly under Cacao's indulgent eye, Chocolat's 'club' lying forgotten on the floor. They had just rolled into a tangle of discarded bedding when there was a sudden noise from downstairs. The teens froze, their limbs locked in mock-struggle. Three sets of wide eyes slowly turned towards the stairs. There was silence.

Suddenly, there was a splintering crash as the bookshelves gave way under the boots of the Desians that swarmed into the room. Chocolat's foot slammed into Lloyd's stomach and his flailing elbow caught her in the chest as the teens struggled to disentangle themselves. Everyone was shouting. Two Desians seized Cacao's arms and dragged her down the stairs while two more went for Chocolat and Lloyd.

Lloyd finally sprang to his feet, just as the Desians reached them. His fist slammed into the visible part of the leader's face, driving the half-elf backwards. More came to take his place. Lloyd lashed out with all four limbs, but there were too many and he was too inexperienced. He'd gotten in a few fistfights in his time, but like his encounters with monsters, he preferred to run when he could, pride be damned. So it was that the fight was over barely two minutes later, and Lloyd was not on the winning side.

"No! Let him go! Give me back my mom!" Chocolat threw herself at the nearest Desian, with even less effect than Lloyd. She was thrown back, stumbling and falling to the ground.

"This is your punishment for defying us," the leader sneered, blood streaming from his nose. Chocolat made as if to run forward again, but was stopped by Lloyd's shout.

"Leave it, Co! I'll save Mom," he promised as the soldiers hauled his struggling form down the stairs. He thrashed against their hands violently. If he could just get his hand free… He'd tear all their throats out once he was a wolf! Unfortunately, the grip on his arm might as well have been iron for all the good his struggling did.

Lloyd was dragged out of Marble's Shop and through the streets, where he finally stopped struggling. If he changed here, he couldn't—wouldn't—kill _everyone_ who saw him. The townsfolk may have been close-minded bigots, but they didn't deserve that. Not to mention the unlikely odds of one wolf against several hundred Palmacostans.

A gallows had been erected in the town square. The Desians that had been searching or looting had rounded up as many townspeople as they could, crowding in a ring around the wooden structure. Lloyd was reminded unpleasantly of Iselia. Cacao was standing on the gallows platform, though—thankfully, thankfully—there was no noose around her neck. Yet.

"We got the boy, just like you said," the bloody-faced leader shoved Lloyd forward, presenting him to the Desian in charge of the hanging.

"Good," the Captain replied, striding forward. To Lloyd's confusion, he reached out and yanked down the collar of the brunet's shirt. Lloyd jerked away, but not before the Desian Captain had seen his Exsphere-necklace.

"That's the Angelus Project, all right," the Captain nodded. "Lord Magnius will be pleased." Lloyd cried out in pain as the half-elf's hand whipped forward, jerking the jewel from his chest. There was no blood, and no bloody chunk had been ripped from his flesh, though it certainly felt that way. It was all the pain he felt when transforming into a wolf confined to a single spot on his solar plexus.

"Hang him with the other," the Desian pocketed the necklace and jerked his head at the gallows. Lloyd stumbled up the three steps onto the platform, still gasping and wishing he could clutch his chest.

"Svafnir," Cacao whispered as nooses were placed around both of their necks. "What happened to Chocolat?"

"She's fine," Lloyd gritted. At that moment, a familiar yellow figure darted into the crowd around the gallows. Lloyd swore. "I told her not to come!"

"I'm so sorry," Cacao lamented. She said something else, but Lloyd wasn't listening. More familiar figures had just arrived on the scene, led by Genis. The group stopped dead upon seeing the tableau laid out before them. Kratos in particular appeared to have no blood left in his face.

"Out of the way! Lord Magnius approaches!" the shout was taken up by several soldiers, who began to shove the townsfolk aside to make an aisle for the half-elf that was striding into the square. Lloyd eyed him with a kind of loathing curiosity. So this was Magnius, the one who'd ordered the death of Chocolat's father, the one Governor-General Dorr had been defying all these years, the one who was going to kill him. Frankly, Lloyd would have found that last one a little more bearable had the man looked a little less like a red-headed ape. It was humiliating to have been caught off-guard by _him_.

"It's Magnius from the eastern ranch…" one man's voice murmured. Lloyd couldn't pick out the one who had said it but evidently Magnius could. The Desian Grand Cardinal wrapped a meaty hand around the man's neck and lifted him clear off of the ground.

"That's _Lord_ Magnius, vermin!" he snarled, flexing his hand. There was a soft cracking noise, like the noise someone might make cracking their knuckles. The man went as floppy as a wet string. Magnius tossed the body aside carelessly and continued forward, ignoring the cries of those to whom he had thrown it. The Grand Cardinal halted in front of the platform, sneering up at Lloyd with a kind of condescending amazement.

"So this is the vermin that has been hiding the Angelus Project from us all this time?" he asked no one in particular. "Kvar will be furious to know that he was outsmarted by such a pathetic worm."

"Now, now," Lloyd smirked. "I wouldn't call you that." The smirk slid away moments later as the Desian guard behind him drew his sword and slashed it across the brunet's back, carving a line of red pain from his left shoulder to his right hip. The pain of Lloyd's bitten lip—he would _not_ cry out—was lost in the numbing pain. He barely even noticed when his knees buckled, his mind flying high somewhere completely detached from his body. A white, rushing noise flooded his ears just as copper flooded his mouth.

When Lloyd came back to himself it wasn't because the agony had lessened any, but because he had recognized the screaming voice from the crowd. Chocolat.

"Mom! Lloyd!" the girl made as if to rush forward—having finally shoved her way to the front of the crowd—but her way was blocked by two Desians. Lloyd couldn't make out what they said to her, but it must have been a threat judging by the desperately enraged look on her face. Stupid Desians. What could they threaten her with now that they had her mother and 'big brother' up on the gallows?

At that moment, one of the Desians drew his sword. And Lloyd realized that while they couldn't intimidate her, he still cared very much what would happen in however many minutes he had left to live.

"Leave her alone!" he shouted, straining forward against the noose like a leashed dog. "They didn't do anything; I'm the one with the Exsphere! Let them go!"

"Oh?" Magnius turned to him. "And why would we do that? We already have the Angelus Project."

"I…" Lloyd licked his lips, tasting blood. For a few moments, he floundered. Then, inspiration struck. "The dog! That dog with an Exsphere you were looking for! I know where it is!"

"Is that so?" Lloyd had Magnius's full attention now, as he knew he would. He could see the greed spinning through the Desian's eyes. The Cardinal stepped up onto the platform, the better to tower over Lloyd. "Well, in that case, I'm sure we can come to some sort of agre…"

He was cut off by Lloyd's sudden surge upwards. Supporting himself by the noose around his neck—despite the tightening that cut off his airway—he swung his legs up to strike against the point of Magnius's shoulder, spinning the half-elf partially around. Quick as a snake, his right leg wrapped around the Desian's neck, while his left knee was jammed into the back of his neck for leverage, cutting off _his_ airway.

Everyone was screaming. Cacao, the Desian soldiers, Chocolat, the crowd, even his back was howling in agony while his body cried out for oxygen. He clung on grimly, sweat pouring down his face. He could only hope that, somehow, he could strangle Magnius before he himself was choked to death. The half-elf was bigger than him, though. Was it possible?

He had to hold on. If Magnius died, Chocolat and Cacao might be safe. Even if it was Lloyd who succumbed first, the Desians might retreat to lick their wounds and he would have bought Governor-General Dorr some time. He couldn't breathe. Magnius was struggling, pulling the rope even tighter around his neck. He couldn't feel his back anymore. He couldn't hear the screaming. He couldn't breathe. He couldn't breathe. He couldn't…

"_Welcome back, Svafnir…"_

~ ~ ~~ ~ ~

"…_Chocolat… Oh my goodness, what happened to you two?! You're both completely soaked…"_

"_Sorry, Mom. We were fooling around by the docks, and I fell in."_

"_Are you alright? What were you thinking, Chocolat? You can't swim! How did you get out?"_

"_Calm down, Mom, I'm fine. Vaf saved me."_

"_Svafnir…? But you can't swim either, can you?"_

"…_No… I threw her a rope that was coiled up on the dock."_

"_Then how did you get all wet?"_

"_Well, the rope was kind of… twisted. It got caught around my ankle, and… I tripped and fell in, too."_

"_My goodness! How ever did you both_ _get up, then?"_

"_Vaf shoved me up so I could grab the edge… but it put him under. Which I am very upset about, by the way, Vaf."_

"_I wasn't going to let you drown."_

"_So you drown yourself instead?!"_

"…_You're my family… Better you than me."_

"_You're too loyal, Svafnir."_

"_I can't help what I am!"_

"_I didn't mean _that_. Why would you think you have any less of a right to live than Chocolat?"_

"…_You know why. Besides, how low do you have to be to let someone—anyone—die right in front of you like that? I'd probably have saved _Timothy _if it had been him… and not because he's a kid, either. I just can't let that happen, not while I could do something to prevent it."_

"_Oh, Vaf…"_

"_So how did _you _get up again?"_

"_Oh, that. I doggie-paddled to shore."_

"…"

"…"

"_Vaf… I'm glad that you're here to protect us…"_

~ ~ ~~ ~ ~

"_But you're really weird sometimes."_


	8. Friend?

**Kitty: Wow! What a response! You all really hate cliffies, huh?**

**Zelos: Do not worry, Kitty! I would protect you from the rabid hordes! …Just on principle, you understand.**

**Kitty: Yeah, yeah, I really feel the love, Zels. Anywho, it's very convenient that some of you asked about the Regeneration group's take on the whole hanging-Lloyd thing, because the beginning of this chapter was pre-written the way it is even before you asked for it! So enjoy, dear readers, and pretend that I'm catering to your requests!**

**Zelos: She's almost as evil as I am… I've got to work harder on that… Anyway, YearOfTheKitty does not own Tales of Symphonia nor anything associated with it. Well, I guess technically this fic is associated with it, but it's not ASSOCIATED with it…**

**Kitty: Moving on, enjoy!**

~ ~ ~~ ~ ~

**Chapter Eight**

**Friend?**

"_So, are you friend or foe?_

_Cause I used to know."_

—_t.A.t.U, 'Friend or Foe'_

Kratos swore as he branches whipped past him. That stupid mutt…! He could hear Raine behind him, pushing herself as fast as she could go, frantic for her brother. And, really, who could blame her? She'd just seen him ride off on the back of a wolf towards a city besieged by a small army of Desians. Overhead, Colette zoomed along, circling back every once in a while to make sure they were still okay. Kratos swore again, internally. If he could just open his own wings, he'd be there in a heartbeat. But of course he couldn't do that. Even if his son was somewhere down there…

It was too long, far too long, before they arrived in the city. Kratos was preoccupied enough that he didn't remember to affect weariness, charging off into the streets in search of Lloyd. Raine strove valiantly to keep pace with him, despite the horrible, strangled noise that Kratos knew to be her attempts to breath through panting. Colette descended from the sky to run alongside them, shouting and waving her hands. For a few moments, Kratos was puzzled. Her reasons became clear when a small, white-haired figure shot from the mouth of a nearby side-street like a blue-clad cannonball.

"Come quick!" he yelled, his voice breaking in panic. "They're going to kill him!"

"Who?" Kratos's voice was a bark. The question was irrelevant as, a moment later, they burst into the town square. Kratos's breath caught in his throat, stilling his feet abruptly. His vision tunneled. There, just across the square, was his son, standing upon a gallows, his neck encircled by a noose. Everything else faded to black.

"Nix," Genis's voice was a horrified whisper, and the answer to a question Kratos had forgotten. All he could see was Lloyd, his hands bound behind his back and his face pale and drawn. He had a good idea that this one, single image was going to be burnt into his mind until the day he died, whenever that would be. There was another woman on the gallows, he noted distantly, but she didn't register.

Who…? Kratos's hand gripped his sword so tightly that his knuckles turned white. Who had done this? Of course, there was only one person, since the ones holding his son were Desians. That meant…

"Out of the way! Lord Magnius approaches!" Kratos was shoved aside along with the others as a few Desian soldiers herded them out of the way of the approaching Cardinal. Kratos eyed the man with unrestrained loathing as he passed. He had never liked Magnius—the man was more of a glorified ape than a real, thinking being—but his dislike soared to new heights in the short time it took the Cardinal to cross the square.

"So this is the vermin that has been hiding the Angelus Project from us all this time?" Magnius's confident, contemptuous voice rang through the red haze that seemed to have descended across Kratos's vision. "Kvar will be furious to know he was outsmarted by such a pathetic worm."

And then Lloyd, brave and self-sacrificing and foolish as his mother, had the audacity to _smirk_ and say right to Magnius's face in a voice for all to hear, "Now, now; I wouldn't call you that."

Kratos had to admit that for one single moment, he felt a burst of pride swell uncontrollably within him. _That's my boy_.

And then the sword fell.

Kratos would later admire Lloyd's determination in not crying out. That cut had to have hurt like nothing else. At the time, though, all he saw was the blood pouring down the back of Lloyd's shirt like a spilled drink, saw his legs give way beneath him, saw Magnius sneer at the crumpled boy before him.

"Kratos!" a hand caught at his shoulder. He hadn't even realized he'd been moving, but he now saw that Colette and Genis were several yards behind him, and that his sword was already half-drawn. It was Raine who had stopped him, her face pale and strained. "If you defy the Desians, this whole city might be destroyed, just like Iselia!"

Kratos blinked for a moment before remembering that—_of course_—to them, those were two strangers about to be hanged. Raine might feel pity, might empathize with the frantic screaming girl in the crowd, might hate herself for a long time afterwards, but she would always choose to sacrifice them to save all of Palmacosta.

"We can't just let him die!" Genis was suddenly there, arguing. "Not Nix and not Cacao, either! What good is regenerating the world if we just let things like this happen right in front of us?"

"That's right!" Colette nodded, for once looking serious.

"Please, both of you, think," Raine pleaded. "If we do this, all of Palmacosta will reap the consequences."

"Would you say the same thing, I wonder," Kratos spoke without looking at the woman, "if it were Genis on that platform?" That brought Raine up short.

"But it's not!" she collected herself. "I'm not saying it's right, but sometimes there _is_ no right answer! You can't sacrifice the many for the few."

"Chocolat's our friend," Genis said stubbornly. A scream rose from the selfsame girl, who was in hysterics attempting to get to her mother and Lloyd. "How can we let this happen? I _won't_ let this happen!"

"I…" Colette began, presumably meaning to pledge her own support, but was cut off by a shout that rose above both the noise of Chocolat's pleas and the Desian's threats. Kratos wasn't sure whether to be relieved about the fact that Lloyd had regained his feet once more, or furious that he was antagonizing the ones with a noose around his neck. Again.

"What is he…?" Genis began, frowning.

"The dog!" Lloyd exclaimed, his face wild and frantic. "That dog with an Exsphere you were looking for! I know where it is!"

"Svafnir…?!" Genis gasped, his face paling. "No. No, Nix wouldn't…!"

"Oh no," Colette breathed, clasping her hands and looking to be on the verge of tears. Kratos felt a swooping sensation in the pit of his stomach, torn once more. On the one hand, he had never liked that mutt and he himself would sell it out in a moment for Lloyd's life. On the other, what did it say about Lloyd that he was willing to sacrifice a helpless animal for his own well-being?

And how had Lloyd known they were looking for Svafnir in the first place…?

Then, while the group was frozen in indecision, Lloyd sprang into action. In an instant, he had one leg hooked around Magnius's throat, the other pressing against the back of his neck. The Desian choked and strained forward, pulling the noose tight against Lloyd's neck.

Kratos was moving before Genis had time to so much as gasp, Raine's restraining hand torn away in a moment. His sword was out now, and that did more to clear a path through the crowd than anything else. Even so, it was slow—_too slow, too SLOW_—with so many bodies and nowhere for them to go. For the second time in the same day, Kratos was sorely tempted to whip out his wings and fly to his son's aid. He would do it in a moment, if these humans didn't move any faster. Lloyd's face was turning purple… The Desians were running forward to pry him away, swords raised…

And then, when he was only a few feet away from the gallows, brown eyes fluttered shut, his body relaxing. His legs slid from Magnius's shoulders, leaving the Cardinal to fall to his knees, gasping and retching. And Lloyd, Lloyd just hung there…

The red haze that Kratos had seen was gone now. Instead, everything seemed clearer than it had ever been, outlined in stark black detail as blunt as a wood etching. With a bound, he was on the platform, sword raised to come down and take off Magnius's head in a single strike.

Something got in the way. With a ringing clash of steel, his sword met another. Some soldier-grunt trying to be a hero, coming between Kratos and his intended victim. The Seraph brought his blade around to neatly cut the soldier down, only for more to cluster around him. Kratos gritted his teeth. He had to get to Lloyd. There was a chance that he had only passed out… In which case, he didn't have much more time before the boy strangled in truth.

Kratos, however, had forgotten that he was not alone. A whirring noise directed his attention to a circular blur of metal that buzzed past his head to slice through the rope that held Lloyd and then through the woman, Cacao's, before circling back to Colette. The boy fell to the platform with a lifeless thump. Genis suddenly clambered over the edge of the platform, taking up a ready stance beside Kratos.

"Ugh…" Magnius coughed. "Get rid of them! I have what I want!" He rose unsteadily to his feet and retreated, his escape covered by the contingent of soldiers that charged forward to engage Kratos, Genis, and Colette. Raine, after hovering in the background for a few uncertain, exasperated moments, joined them with a huff that clearly told them she did not approve.

Well, Kratos thought, slicing across the chest of yet another Desian, he didn't need her approval. Until recently, he hadn't needed anybody else, much less their good opinion. And he was damned if he was going to let a single Desian soldier stand between him and his son ever again.

"_Hey, Svafnir!"_

~ ~ ~~ ~ ~

"…_Come on, Vaf, wake up!"_

"…_Huh?"_

"_What's up with you? I've been calling for, like, ten minutes now."_

"_I just can't get used to being called 'Svafnir'. Or 'Vaf'. Everyone except you, Cacao, and Marble just calls me Nix…"_

"_Well get used to it. Your self-esteem is low enough without being called worthless every time someone talks to you."_

"_But they aren't calling me worthless! It just means I have no name…"_

"_Stop mumbling like that. And stop making that face at me! How old are you now?"_

"_At least three since you made me start counting!"_

"…_That wasn't what I meant…"_

"_What does 'Svafnir' even mean, anyway? How's a weird name like that any better than Nix?"_

"_I dunno what it means, but Grandma said it was the name of a great hero."_

"_Really?! What did he do?"_

"_He slew a great dragon that was threatening to destroy the city of Luin, I think."_

"_Oh…"_

"_Now what's with that look?"_

"_I was expecting something a little more… heroic."_

"_You don't think slaying dragons is heroic?"_

"_No, no, I was just thinking of something… _more_ heroic."_

"_You're impossible."_

"…"

"…_Hey, Vaf?"_

"…"

"_Svafnir!"_

"…"

"_Come on, Vaf!"_

~ ~ ~~ ~ ~

"…_When are you going to wake up?!"_

"Lloyd! Ugh, when is he going to wake up?"

A strident voice cut through Lloyd's dream. His brow furrowed, trying to catch the fading remnants. It had been a good dream, a flying one. He often had flying dreams. Even now, he could still almost feel two extra limbs sprawled out to either side of him, could almost imagine the prickle of feathers on his arms and shoulders…

"Lloyd!"

"Whoa!" The brunet jolted upright, the illusion dispelled. He was four-limbed once more, and staring right into a pair of furious brown eyes. Chocolat…? He barely had time to blink in confusion before something smacked the side of his head, sending him toppling back to the pallet upon which he had—apparently—been sleeping.

_Yep, _he thought, feeling the distant throb on his temple that he knew was going to bruise later, _that's Co, alright._

"You _idiot_!" Chocolat raged. "What were you thinking, pulling a stunt like that?!"

"And a good morning to you, Co," Lloyd replied, sitting up slowly and rubbing his head. A quick survey of the room proved that they were in Cacao and Chocolat's house, the wreckage of their failed barrier shoved into a corner to make room for the many occupants. Genis, Colette, Raine, Kratos, Cacao, and Chocolat were all arranged around Lloyd's pallet (the beds had been broken along with the bookshelves) with varying degrees of concern.

"Why you…!" Chocolat raised her hand again, but her wrist was caught by Raine before she could bring it down once more.

"Please, calm down," the teacher suggested. "I would not want to have to heal him again so soon."

"Heal me again…?" Lloyd repeated.

"Don't you remember?" Genis demanded, sounding almost as upset as Chocolat. "You tried to choke Magnius but only ended up strangling yourself. You've been unconscious all night. Moron."

"Oh, yeah," Lloyd's eyes lit up in realization. "It was all I could think of to get them to leave Ca-Co alone."

"It was a fool's gamble," Kratos's voice wasn't particularly sharp, but it cut Lloyd like a whip. He flinched slightly, looking down.

"I… I'm sorry."

"You should be!" Surprisingly, it was not Chocolat who spoke, but Genis. The half-elf leaned forward slightly, his fists and teeth clenched as he continued. "You were about to sell out my dog! You were going to let them kill him to save yourself! You…! He's just a dumb dog! How could you…?!"

"No!" Lloyd's eyes widened. Of all things to be angry about, this was one he hadn't considered. He'd forgotten what it would sound like to them. They couldn't know that Lloyd and Svafnir were one and the same.

"Genis," he said, as sincerely as he could, "I swear to you, I wasn't going to sell out your dog. Please, if nothing else, believe that. It was just a ruse to get Magnius close enough, to distract him until I could get my legs up."

"If nothing else?" Raine repeated, picking up on the pertinent phrase. Lloyd, Chocolat, and Cacao all winced in concert.

"Well… I _do_ have kind of a reputation in this town for being a thieving liar," Lloyd laughed uncomfortably. "I haven't stolen anything of yours, but as for lying…"

"Svafnir is your dog, isn't he?" Kratos spoke suddenly. Lloyd's head snapped up, face slack with shock.

"H-How…?!"

"In hindsight, it is pretty obvious," Genis said thoughtfully, folding his arms. The group had clearly hashed out this theory while he had been asleep. "The minute you left, Svafnir came to rescue us. No, to rescue me. Most people would expect him to come for Colette, since she's the Chosen. Chocolat knew Svafnir, and now she apparently also knows you pretty well. Plus, you somehow knew that I had a dog with an Exsphere that the Desians were looking for, even though you've never seen him."

"…Heh," Lloyd rubbed the back of his head sheepishly, though inside he was celebrating. He loved it when his marks gave him an easy out like this! "I didn't keep that one very well-hidden, did I? Yeah… Svafnir's… my dog. Wolf, technically," he added, not quite liking his sudden demotion to domestication. "I sent him to make sure you stayed safe once I heard from Dirk that Raine was going on the Regeneration Journey. I meant for him to help her, but you came along too, so that kind of worked out well. In the sense that you were both protected, I mean."

"But isn't it dangerous for you to go without him?" Colette asked anxiously. "You must have been surviving in the wilderness all this time because Svafnir was with you."

"Nah, I can take care of myself," Lloyd scoffed.

"Thus the hanging," Kratos said dryly. The nonchalant effect was somewhat ruined by the fact that he was visibly clenching his teeth as he said it. Lloyd flushed.

"Th-That was a fluke! They caught me off-guard!" he huffed and crossed his arms. "If they'd fought fair I would have won for sure."

"They will not fight fair," Raine told him. "I appreciate the thought, but it is safer for you to keep Svafnir."

"Yeah…" Genis mumbled. "I wouldn't want you to die because you lent him to us…"

"I'm not lending him," Lloyd offered the dejected half-elf a grin. "I'm giving him to you, Genis. Trust me, I've given up traveling for now. I'll stay here in Palmacosta, learn how to fight, and in a year or so I'll be able to defend myself. So don't worry about me, okay?"

"If you say so," Genis nodded hesitantly, brightening. "Thanks, Nix!"

"Of course!"

"Lloyd," Raine broke into the moment, "you say you sent Svafnir to protect us?"

"Yeah, why?"

"How did you do so? For all his intelligence, he is only a wolf, after all." Lloyd was shaking his head before Raine even finished.

"No, not at all. He's… Svafnir's… just as smart as you or me. He understands every word you say to him, and he can even read a little. You could send him shopping if the merchants would sell to him!" the boy smiled at his own joke.

"It must be the influence of that Exsphere on his paw," the teacher mused, tapping her chin thoughtfully. "Fascinating. I have never heard of an animal with an Exsphere before. Did you put it on him, or the Desians?"

"Not me," Lloyd shrugged, glancing down at his wrist, but looking up quickly. He swore internally at the slip, though it seemed to have gone unnoticed. "He's had it ever since I've known him. And I've known him for as long as I can remember." For some reason, Kratos's eyes widened noticeably at that statement. Lloyd frowned, but his attention was called away by Genis.

"Wow, he must be older than I thought. He acts like a puppy, but wolves don't live much longer than seventeen years…"

"Heh," was all Lloyd could offer in response. He hadn't known that, hadn't even thought about it until that moment. He doubted it made much difference anyway. After all, he'd still been turning into a puppy when Chocolat found him, and by that point a real wolf would have been a fully-fledged adult.

"Well, in any case," Chocolat, who had been largely forgotten, spoke up. "I've got to get going now. Thank you all for saving Mom and S—Lloyd. I'll see you later." The yellow-clad girl turned on her heel and marched away with a stiff back. Lloyd blew a sigh. Clearly he was not forgiven. He'd have to make time to talk to her before he left town again…

"It is time for us to move on as well," Kratos advised. In front of him, Lloyd could see Genis mouthing 'Slloyd?' to himself. Lloyd suppressed a grin.

"You're right. We've delayed the Journey for too long as it is," Raine agreed. "Come on, you two."

"I'm glad you're alright," Colette said to Lloyd. "Good luck learning to fight."

"I'll do my best if you do yours," Lloyd promised. Colette's mouth tightened for a moment before blossoming into a wide smile.

"I will… I promise." The girl turned and led the way down the stairs. Kratos cast one last glance over his shoulder before following, Raine close behind him. Genis lingered. Cacao took one look at the two of them and went after her guests, smiling slightly. Genis stood before Lloyd, half-sheepish and half-upset. His hands were balled up beside him, but he wouldn't meet Lloyd's eyes and his face was not angry.

"I'm… I'm sorry, Nix," he began. "Or… Lloyd."

"You can call me whatever," Lloyd interrupted flippantly. "I can hardly keep track of all my names nowadays."

"Right," Genis shot the older boy a narrow look, and Lloyd shut up, realizing that he was serious. "I just wanted to say that I'm sorry for accusing you of betraying Svafnir. But, in spit of that… I still don't think we can really be friends."

"Genis…?" Lloyd's face fell. He hadn't expected _that_. "Why not?"

"I thought that we could have been," the half-elf explained. "I'm… a real brat, to everyone, so not many people besides Colette can put up with me. But you could, so I thought… But you left. I was really mad at you. And now it turns out that all this time, it's been you protecting us. I'm grateful and all… but practically every word you've said since the day I met you has been a lie. I can't be friends with someone I can't trust. So, I'm really sor—!"

Genis's short speech was cut off abruptly by an arm that encircled his neck, only slightly bending him over since the one trapping him was so much taller. A fist ground into the top of his head.

"Brat," Lloyd's voice was mild, even as he gave Genis the noogie of a lifetime. "I'm not going to let you keep thinking such stupid things. I might lie, I might hide things, but everything I do is for my friends. I don't have enough of them to risk forcing them away. In fact, now that I think of it, you might just be my _only_ friend since Chocolat and Cacao are family. So even if you never trust a word I say ever again, trust this: you are my friend. And there's nothing you can do about it, dork."

Genis stumbled as he was suddenly released. He retreated a few steps and reached up to ruefully rub the top of his head, glaring half-heartedly at Lloyd's grinning face.

"Besides, trust isn't everything! I have a million friends I wouldn't trust to pass me the salt!" Lloyd declared with a gigantic grin, his hands on his hips.

"Didn't you just say I was your _only_ friend?" Genis's voice punctured Lloyd's grin like a needle into a bubble, and it disappeared with just the same alacrity. The brunet wilted, exaggerating his depression. Genis shook his head and fought a smile down. "You idiot. Why is it I can almost believe you when you say stupid things like that?"

"Because I'm an up-and-up, honest person who would never lie to you except with regards to his guard dog?" Lloyd's grin was rekindled, hopefully this time. Genis shot it down almost immediately.

"No. It's because you're an idiot."

"Aw, Genis!"

"Genis, are you still up here?" Raine's voice intruded on the moment, her head poking into the room. "Come on, we're all waiting for you!"

"Sorry, Sis," Genis said, unrepentant. "I'll see you again, Nix. I promise. Okay?"

"Yeah, I'll see you," Lloyd agreed. "Remember to talk to Svafnir, okay? He can be your friend, too, and he doesn't like being treated like a dumb animal."

"Right!" the half-elf scurried after his sister, unable to contain his smile this time. Lloyd, in contrast, felt his good mood evaporate like a puddle in the sun.

"Maybe if we become good enough friends… you won't hate me too much when you find out…"

This web he was weaving was getting far too tangled, even for him. Sooner or later, he was going to have to own up. And after a talk like that, he didn't see how it was possible for Genis to forgive him afterwards. Surely Raine would be furious with him, and Colette might even be afraid… And as for Kratos, it was obvious the man didn't like 'Svafnir' at all. It was unlikely his father would want anything to do with him once he found out just what kind of… _thing_ his son was.

_I'll work harder_, Lloyd promised himself, clenching his fist and staring at the back of it as if his gaze could pierce the fabric hiding his Exsphere from view. _I can't let them find out. Not ever._ He wouldn't lose his only friends, or his only family. He _couldn't_. Even if it meant that his entire life was one huge lie.

Well, that was nothing new, anyway.

Lloyd laid a hand on his wrist, feeling the bump of the gem beneath it. Shards of rainbows danced along his skin and the walls behind him, turning each strand of his hair into a thin copper wire. Bloodstone eyes opened.

And Lloyd dove headfirst into the lie once more.


	9. Disillusioned

**Kitty: Hmm… Yeah, I've got nothing better to do. I'll update. I would like to direct your attention now to this chapter's quote. You might notice it is an excerpt from the song 'False Pretense'. (And if you don't… get new glasses. I typed it out.) False Pretense is my inspiration song for this fic!**

**Zelos: It's driving me nuts… She's got it on repeat the entire time she's typing… SOMEONE MAKE IT STOP!**

**Kitty: Hush, you. It's a great song. Next chapter's got a quote from it, too. Heheh, wait around long enough and I might type out the whole damn song. ^^**

**Zelos: LLOYD! SAVE MEEEEE!**

**Kitty: He can't hear you, Zelos. Nobody can hear you… -evil cackle-**

**Genis: O.O Um… YearOfTheKitty doesn't own the song 'False Pretense' nor the game Tales of Symphonia.**

**Zelos: -EEEE… Wait a minute, when did the twerp get here?**

**Genis: SOMEONE had to do the disclaimer…**

**Kitty: Read, review, and enjoy!**

~ ~ ~~ ~ ~

**Chapter Nine**

**Disillusioned**

"_I can't seem to understand it—how you turned out to be so cold_

_You tried, but were caught red-handed; Are you happy with your role?_

_It's funny to me how you've turned into such a joke."_

—_Red Jumpsuit Apparatus, 'False Pretense'_

"So… you can understand us, huh?"

Re-meeting with Genis and the others as Svafnir was just as awkward as Lloyd had feared it would be. For the longest time, they had traveled towards Hakonesia Peak in silence. Every time Lloyd glanced up, four gazes would skitter away like startled mice. Finally, when they were at the base of the mountain, Genis plucked up the courage to speak.

Lloyd nodded stiffly, having to throw all of his head up and down instead of the normal, human inclination. Wolves weren't made for this sort of communication, but it was all he could do.

"I knew it," Genis muttered. "And you're really… Lloyd's dog?" Another stiff nod, this one slightly more hesitant than the last.

"Oh, no!" Colette suddenly exclaimed, her hands flying to her mouth. The entire group halted, turning around to face the Chosen, hands flying to their weapons.

"What is it?" Raine asked when no danger made itself readily apparent.

"I've…! I've been calling him 'doggie' all this time, and he understood me!" Colette cried out. "Oh, I'm so sorry, doggie! I mean Svafnir! I'm so sorry, Svafnir!"

Lloyd stared at the blonde girl for a few moments, not quite able to believe that something like _that_ was the cause of her distress. When it became clear that, yes, she was worried about calling him 'doggie', Lloyd actually chuckled. He rolled his eyes and kept going.

"I think that means you're forgiven, Colette," Genis surmised, moving on. Raine and Kratos blew identical sighs of exasperation and continued onward as well. The young half-elf hurried forward to engage Colette in conversation, leaving Lloyd trotting alongside Kratos, behind Raine.

"I feel a fool," the swordsman said quietly, startling Lloyd. "But I suppose it is you I must thank for keeping my son safe all these years. So… you have my thanks."

Lloyd grinned as widely as he could—tongue hanging out—and wagged his tail so hard that his entire body wiggled with the force of it. He would have liked to rub against Kratos's leg, too, but didn't want to push his luck.

Then, so quietly he almost didn't hear it, Kratos murmured, "Could you really be… Noishe…?" Lloyd tipped his head to the side, his grin fading. Noishe? What did _that_ mean? Whatever it was, Lloyd probably wasn't it, unless 'noishe' meant 'transforming wolf-boy', so it seemed as if Kratos was far from guessing his true identity. That was a relief. Lloyd had been worried about his many, many slips in Palmacosta. Maybe his dad wasn't as observant as he had thought…

The journey continued in relative silence after that, broken only by the occasional exclamation from Colette or Genis, or a bark from Lloyd. The wolf, for his part, was as energetic as ever, ranging away from the rest of the group to chase rabbits through the foothills' scrub. When the going got rockier, he helped the bipeds by scouting ahead for the safest route to take. In this fashion, they quickly arrived at Hakonesia Peak for the second time.

This time, however, they had only gotten a few yards down the trail before they were accosted. A soldier, wearing a uniform that Lloyd thought was familiar, jogged up behind them, raising a hand and shouting.

"Chosen One! Everyone!"

"What is it?" Colette was the first to turn, followed by her companions. Lloyd sat at Genis's side and cocked his head. He didn't recognize this man, but there was something familiar about him…

"I have a message from Dorr," the soldier paused a moment to catch his breath before continuing. "He would like you to temporarily postpone the Journey of Regeneration."

There was a short, shocked silence that made Lloyd's hackles go up. Every face bore an identical expression of horrified amazement, mixed in with curiosity. Lloyd considered biting this soldier who came in and upset his friends like this.

"What is this about?" Kratos finally demanded, recovering his composure.

"A Church of Martel pilgrimage tour guide has been kidnapped by the Desians," the man related. Lloyd's ears shot forward. There was something he should be thinking—or doing or saying—in response to that, he knew there was, but he just couldn't quite remember it… The soldier went on. "In light of this, Dorr has decided that this is the time to gather Palmacosta's forces and launch an attack on the Desian ranch controlled by Magnius."

"How is that related?" Genis tipped his head to the side, much in the same manner as Lloyd.

"We would like you to rescue the kidnapped tour guide in concert with our attack," the Palmacostan militiaman replied. Colette hesitated, clearly upset.

"Who is this kidnapped tour guide?" she asked.

"Her name is Chocolat."

_CHOCOLAT?!_

Lloyd yipped and swayed slightly, realization rushing back to him. He'd been thinking like a wolf again! It had crept up on him, so easily and comfortably that he hadn't even noticed it… How long had he been like this? Was it getting worse? Why?

And, more importantly, Chocolat had been kidnapped?! Lloyd's snout wrinkled up to show every last one of his teeth. They would pay for that. Nobody touched his little sister. He'd make them all wish they'd never even heard of Palmacosta!

"…Oh no," Raine whispered, both in response to the soldier's answer and Lloyd's reaction. She recognized it as the same expression he'd worn just before charging off with her brother on his back right into the center of a city swarming with pillaging Desians.

"Chosen One, please help us," the militiaman pleaded.

"Yes, of course," Colette nodded fervently. She seemed to realize that her companions might take exception to this only after she'd spoken, casting a quick glance back at Raine and Kratos.

"If that is what the Chosen wishes," the mercenary said, his voice betraying no hint of what he truly thought.

"I won't stand in your way," Raine sighed heavily, her emotions slightly more on display. "I know Chocolat is your friend, Svafnir."

Lloyd yapped shortly. _Damn right, she is_!

"Okay, then, what are we waiting for? Let's go!" Genis started ahead.

"I'll go ahead to tell Dorr," the soldier announced before turning and exiting at a jog. The others broke into a jog as well, Colette releasing her wings to glide inches above the ground. Genis fell back a bit since his legs were shorter than the others'—a problem Lloyd easily fixed by ducking between the boy's legs and slipping him onto his back once more, in a slightly less painful manner than the first time.

The sun was setting when they reached Palmacosta (for the third time). Lloyd (and, arguably, Genis) led the way down the path that led to the ranch. His paws fell into the familiar pattern easily, without thought. He came this way often during the times he lived in Palmacosta—not to the ranch, quite, but the path out of town and beyond it into the woods, yes. He hunted sometimes as a wolf even when food was plentiful to keep his wits sharp and his stomach used to raw, bloody meat. It also helped when Marble's Shop alone was having a hard time sustaining three single women…

They were halfway down the shadowy path when Lloyd's nose suddenly twitched, his ears tilting forward. The wolf dropped into a crouch, growling a warning. Kratos's sword slid from its sheath with a soft hiss. The others readied their own weapons.

"Who's there? Show yourself," Kratos commanded.

"Ah, forgive me," a new figure stepped onto the path, hands raised palm-out to show that he or she was unarmed. Lloyd straightened. He knew that person. It was Neil, the Assistant Governor-General. He must be here to tell them the details of the plan to rescue Chocolat. "I did not mean to sneak up on you. You have a very good guard dog. The Nix boy's, if I'm not mistaken…?" Neil blinked and shook his head slightly, dismissing the rumors that had jumped into his head. "No matter. I wish to speak with the Chosen One regarding Chocolat. Please, come this way…"

"…It doesn't sound like you have very good news for us," Raine noted, nonetheless following the Palmacostan into a sheltered alcove just off the path.

"I would like all of you to just go ahead and leave the Palmacosta region," Neil blurted out all in one breath once they were safely concealed. He seemed nervous, periodically wiping his palms against his pants, fidgeting, and avoiding meeting anyone's eyes.

"But if we do that, what will happen to Chocolat?" Colette gasped, clasping her hands. She knew very well what would happen to Chocolat, but Colette had ever been a kind-hearted person. She was not going to let herself leap to conclusions. Perhaps Neil already had a different solution. Even as she said it, though, Neil was shaking his head. Genis added his own protest regardless.

"Yeah! We're supposed to work in conjunction with the Palmacosta army to save Chocolat, right?" the half-elf demanded, his tone daring Neil to deny it.

"No, that's…"

Lloyd snarled loudly, his entire body tensing up as if to spring. Who was this man to say he couldn't rescue his little sister? There was no reason in the world that could convince him this was a bad idea. How was it even possible to justify leaving one's younger sibling (albeit an adopted one) in danger when you were perfectly able to save them?

"Svafnir, calm yourself," Kratos commanded. Lloyd relaxed slightly, cutting off his snarl at his father's order. "So… it is a trap." Neil looked up sharply, his face slackening in surprise. Not a defensive surprise, Lloyd noted with a sinking feeling in his stomach, but the surprise of someone caught in a lie…

"…Of the several possibilities, it looks like the worst one came true," Raine added her own weary voice to the discussion. Lloyd looked up at her, his expression pleading. _Please, Raine, say you don't mean what I think you mean…_

"Wh-what are you two talking about?" Genis demanded.

"It was a mystery that the Desians would simply leave a city with an army alone," Kratos half-explained. Raine took up the slack, elaborating.

"Yes, exactly. Choosing not to crush the seeds of rebellion must mean that they are not a threat… They are left alone simply because they have no real power, or perhaps, because they are in fact beneficial…"

"It is as you say," Neil bowed his head under their suspicions, looking every bit as guilty as a discovered traitor should. Except, Lloyd realized as his stomach sank even further, it wasn't Neil who was the traitor…

"Dorr is working with the Desians to lead the Chosen into a trap," Neil finished.

Lloyd felt the words as a physical blow. He nearly staggered. Governor-General Dorr? The hero of Palmacosta? A traitor? It just didn't make sense. Dorr had never been anything but full of kindness and generosity, even towards an orphaned monster-boy. _Especially _towards an orphaned monster-boy. Dorr, who had stood as a symbol of resistance for longer than Lloyd had been alive, couldn't possibly be a traitor. What about his daughter, Kilia? What about his late wife, Clara? He wouldn't just betray them like this! Dorr had everything: money, power, influence, popularity, respect, material possessions, and a happy, loving family. What reason could he possibly have for putting that all in jeopardy to work with Magnius?

"Why would he do such a thing?" Genis's voice was outraged, but even his anger paled in comparison to Lloyd's. If this were true… If Dorr really was a traitor… Lloyd would kill him. Lloyd would tear him apart for abusing Chocolat's trust, for letting Marble be taken, for allowing (and maybe even arranging) Cacao's and his own failed execution. Most of all, he would tear him apart for deceiving his daughter this way.

Family was everything to Lloyd. He would die for his adopted family, and he would come back from the dead to die again—a thousand times—for his real one (now that he had a real one). The thought of taking such a risk with his child's life was inconceivable. It was horrible, monstrous, inhuman.

No. It was so completely, typically, disgustingly human that it made Lloyd sick.

"He didn't used to be like this…" Neil shifted, uncomfortable. He had admired Dorr, Lloyd saw. It was probably what had driven him to accept the position as Dorr's second-in-command. "He always thought of the well-being of the city. Even five years ago, when he lost his wife, Clara, he swore to fight against the Desians."

"Then why…" Colette sounded choked. Of course, she was the Chosen, Lloyd shrugged to himself. She was willing to risk her own life to save hundreds of people she'd never met and never would. To her, the idea of betraying so many close friends, so many people who respected her, was just as sickening as it was to Lloyd.

"I don't know," Neil admitted. There were a few moments of silence while everyone pulled themselves together. Raine and Kratos remained composed, having suspected this outcome all along. For Genis, it was a simple matter of redirecting his anger back at the source of all their troubles: the Desians. Colette struggled for a moment with the idea of such a mass deception, but in the end, she too managed to shrug it off in favor of focusing on the task at hand. Lloyd, though, could not dismiss it so easily. He had looked up to Governor-General Dorr for his whole life. He had respected the man to the point where he had even considered settling permanently in Palmacosta with the express purpose of joining the militia. He couldn't let this go, not now, not ever.

"At any rate, entering the ranch now will put the Chosen in danger," Neil warned. "Leave Chocolat to me and please, go on your way. Please regenerate the world as soon as possible."

"…Indeed," Kratos nodded, turning to address Colette. "It would be best to abandon the situation here for world regeneration."

"No!" Colette refused, her face tight. "I can't just ignore this."

_So I was right…_ Lloyd thought, satisfied. If Colette convinced them to stay, it would give him another crack at Magnius and maybe even one at Dorr. The place he had once considered to be his home was quickly filling up with people he wanted to kill. Lloyd wondered if he should be worried by that.

"Colette's right," Genis, as usual, deferred. "If we leave things as they are now, Palmacosta may be destroyed just like Iselia. You think so, too, don't you Svafnir?!" Lloyd threw his head up and down, growling agreement. Genis's eyes suddenly lit up, and not in a good way.

_If he's always been this smart, _the half-elf slowly rationalized, _and if Nix used to live with Chocolat, then that means… Svafnir knew Marble. That's why she acted strangely when she saw him. That means… she was his friend too… _Genis's eyes widened as he came to the most pertinent conclusion of all. _And Chocolat still doesn't know._

"Yes, what you say is true," Raine adjusted her grip on her staff, looking grave. Genis started, thinking that she was addressing his thoughts, before relaxing, remembering the flow of the conversation as she continued. "But I still wish to side with Kratos. If you don't want to see cities destroyed, you should avoid contact with the Desians."

But how could they help it?! Lloyd thought, angrily. It was ludicrous to avoid all contact with the worldwide organization attempting to track them down and kill them! Conflict was inevitable, and rarely would it happen anywhere other than some sort of city.

"No, that's not right," Colette shook her head firmly. "Regenerating the world and saving the people in front of us are not exclusive of each other. That's what I think."

"If that is how you feel, Colette," Raine sighed heavily, "then we do not have any right to stop you. The only one who has the right to make decisions on this journey is you, the Chosen One. Now then, we have two courses we can take. The first one is to go on ahead and infiltrate the ranch and rescue Chocolat and the other captives. Now that things have come to this, if we leave the ranch alone, it will surely result in a second Iselia. Our second option is to confirm Dorr's true motives. If he has planned a trap, then he knows the layout of the ranch well. …Let's let him talk for a bit."

"What are you going to do to Dorr?" Neil asked in trepidation, his expression anxious. Lloyd blinked. Neil… still looked up to him?

"…You'd better not ask that," Genis warned, smirking. "Raine's punishment is painful." The older Sage made as if to smack her brother, but pulled up at the last minute, remembering what had happened the last time she'd attempted to do Genis bodily harm while Lloyd had been standing next to him. She settled for an ice-cold glare and irritated huff. Lloyd wagged his tail once, pleased that his lessons were sinking in.

"Thinking logically, dealing with Dorr first is the correct choice," Kratos put in his opinion. Lloyd's pleasure evaporated in an instant, his snarl returning. He shook his head violently, barking and jerking his muzzle in the direction of the ranch.

"Svafnir wants to rescue Chocolat," Genis murmured.

"Svafnir is not leading this expedition," Raine shot back testily. "Colette, what do you want to do?"

"I…" Colette hesitated, glancing up and down the path between the ranch and Palmacosta. "I… want to save Chocolat. She must be so scared and lonely, and her mother has already gone through so much…" Lloyd yipped in joy and chased his tail around once.

"You got it! Count me in!" Genis agreed, pumping his fist into the air.

"I don't want to agree with this," Raine muttered, "but it looks like I don't have a choice…"

"…If that is your wish," Kratos bowed his head briefly, clearly in agreement with Raine. "Let's go."

Lloyd began to bound down the path ahead of the others, but was pulled up sharply by a hand in his scruff. The wolf twisted his head to see Kratos holding him back, his face as blank as usual.

"I think it would be best to leave the dog outside," he advised Genis.

"What? Why?" the half-elf demanded. "Svafnir wants to help save Chocolat, too!" Lloyd pulled back his teeth. He really didn't want to bite Kratos, but if the man continued to insist that he stay behind he might be forced to.

"We cannot afford to waste time defending him while in the ranch," the mercenary explained. "Remember that the Desians are looking for that Exsphere on his paw. They already got the one they wanted from Lloyd…"

Lloyd snapped his jaws. He intended to get his mom's Exsphere back along with Chocolat. Maybe if he just got one of his father's fingers he would let go…

"Svafnir's always been able to take care of himself," Genis argued. "Besides, what are you going to do, tie him to a tree? He'll just chew through and come after us."

"We should hurry," Raine suggested. "They will know we suspect a trap if we take too long."

"Fine," Kratos released Lloyd, who snorted at him before running ahead once more. "But I do not think this is wise."

"Wait, please!" Neil's voice forestalled them as they began to move away.

"What now?" Genis turned, hands on hips.

"Please take me with you. Allow me to aid you," Neil pleaded. Lloyd made a short sound of dismissal. The human was only trying to avoid facing Dorr now. He'd looked up to Neil, too, before, but now it turns out that none of his heroes were who he had thought they were.

_This is why I hate humans_, he reminded himself. _Even the dumbest dog knows the value of loyalty. Humans are as fickle as the wind._

The group, however, saw it differently. They allowed Neil to tag along with the provision that he remain next to Colette at all times—both to keep him out of the way if there was fighting, and to make it easier to protect both of them at the same time.

Lloyd trotted ahead, tail high despite his black mood. For once, he gladly allowed his human feelings to slip away, replaced by the comforting familiarity of wolfish thoughts. Wolves thought clearly, with no extra emotions to weigh them down. To Lloyd-wolf, his task was clear: recover what had been taken from him, rescue his pack-mate, and kill the traitor. No excuses, no shades of gray, and no pesky lingering affection. The wolf's mind was clear and sharp with anger.

Svafnir bared his teeth and padded into the Palmacostan human ranch.

He was ready to live up to his name.


	10. Monster

**Kitty: Sorry for the wait! I'll bet it built up suspense like nobody's business… But I'm out of summer camp now, so I'll have more time to write. **

**Genis: It's already pre-written, how could having more time possibly speed it up?**

**Zelos: Because, brat, if she stops writing eventually we'll catch up to the part she's written up to!**

**Genis: …I hate it when you're right…**

**Kitty: I do not own Tales of Symphonia or anything derived from it. Useless muses, making me do my own disclaimer…**

**Genis: Whatever, it's not like you're paying us. Also, if there are any typos, ignore them. Kitty broke spellcheck.**

**Kitty: I did not! A little pop-up window popped up and told me that there were too many spelling errors in this document for it to display them all. So it took away the red squigglies that tell me when I'm spelling things wrong. To be fair, the fic is two hundred pages now and the 'words' Raine, Genis, Desian, and Exsphere are on pretty much every one of them, so I can hardly blame it for thinking I'm a moron…**

**Zelos: ANYWAY. On with the fic. Read, review, and enjoy! Or… something like that…**

~ ~ ~~ ~ ~

**Chapter Ten**

**Monster**

"_The world's got a funny way of turning round on you_

_When a friend tries to stab you right in the face_

_Losing faith in everything I thought I hoped I knew_

_Don't sweat it—it's set on false pretense."_

—_Red Jumpsuit Apparatus, 'False Pretense'_

Svafnir's teeth flashed, tearing through flesh as easily as paper. Blood stained his once-white chest fur and flecked the surface of the small shiny on his paw. Behind him, he could hear the rest of his pack taking care of the other enemies. His nose twitched, sifting through the overpowering stench of blood and gore for a warm, familiar smell. After a moment, he found it. He sprinted away in pursuit.

A few yards down the hallway, he saw two more enemies as well as his lost pack-sister. The two taking her away didn't stand a chance against his teeth and claws, though one of them managed to cut Svafnir's shoulder with his long metal claw. Svafnir tore out his throat in the end, turning to his pack-mate with a joyous yip.

For some reason, though, his pack-sister recoiled when he went to greet her, her body exuding the rank smell of fear. Svafnir whined and looked around, sniffing. There were no more enemies. Why did she still smell afraid? He was here now. She was safe.

"Svafnir…" she said. "Vaf, what…? What have you done?" Her voice was low and unsteady. Svafnir paused, confused. He was saving her. Obviously.

"You're all covered in blood," she tried again. Svafnir licked at the wound on his shoulder, irritated. Was that all she was upset about? He'd clean it off in a moment and he'd be as good as new. Wasn't he a good wolf for coming to rescue her? She didn't even thank him…

"Chocolat! Svafnir!" Svafnir turned at the sound of his smallest pack-brother approaching. His pawsteps were heavy and awkward to Svafnir's ears—nothing like the smooth soundlessness of his own paws. Still, his pack was a good one, even if he was the only outside-wolf among them. The rest of them were just inside-wolves. They had to be—he could understand them, and they had their own pack. What else would they be?

"You came to rescue me, too?" Chocolat was surprised. "Thank you."

Svafnir yapped. She thanked him? He didn't do anything! Why didn't she thank Svafnir?

"What's wrong with Vaf?" she demanded worriedly. "He's acting like…"

"Like a wolf?" Genis glanced down at the canine. "I know. He's been like that ever since we got here. I'm not sure what happened."

"Vaf," Chocolat got down on her knees, blood staining the yellow of her dress. Brown eyes met claret ones and held them, her fingers entwined in his fur. She lowered her voice so that Genis couldn't hear her whisper, "Lloyd Nix Svafnir Aurion _listen_ to me. You're human, you understand? You're not a wolf so stop acting like it!"

Svafnir cocked his head to the side, confused. What was his pack-sister saying? He was a wolf, obviously. He had paws and a tail and a muzzle and ears and fur. How could he be a human? She was saying nonsense.

Though… Lloyd Nix Svafnir Aurion… That name meant something, he was sure. It was… his? Yes, it was his. He could hear someone saying it, telling him that his name was Aurion, telling him his name was Lloyd; he could hear himself introducing himself as Nix; he could hear someone whisper the name Svafnir as they disappeared…

_Lloyd Nix Svafnir Aurion._

Lloyd jerked from the tip of his nose to the end of his tail, every hair on his pelt stiffening in surprise.

"Are you back yet?" Chocolat asked. Lloyd, his eyes wide, nodded hesitantly.

"You idiot!" Chocolat embraced him, heedless of the blood that was soaking into her dress. "Don't scare me like that! I thought you'd forgotten who you were!"

"He's okay again?" Genis asked in delight. Lloyd disentangled himself from Chocolat to nod at Genis. The half-elf looked relieved.

"There is no time to be celebrating," Kratos had come up behind the three unnoticed, and now spoke. "We still need to take care of Magnius."

Chocolat nodded seriously, climbing to her feet. She, Genis, Colette, Kratos, and Raine proceeded to discuss their next move while Lloyd sat to the side, looking inward. His legs shook slightly, and he couldn't seem to narrow his eyes. He'd come so close to losing himself… He'd almost forgotten Genis's name! Those Desians had been nothing to him—not because they were evil or even because they were half-elves, but because they weren't part of his 'pack'. He'd just killed them so casually… because they were strangers… And now he was covered in their blood.

Lloyd felt the urge to retch, but held it down. What had he expected? He chastised himself fiercely. He'd made a conscious decision to let his humanity slip away and give the wolf control, despite knowing just how ugly his true self was. He'd known he was a monster and done it anyway. This was the result.

_You reap what you sow._

Lloyd padded despondently after the group as Chocolat led them down a hallway towards a teleporter. The glowing circle deposited them in a large room that seemed to be made entirely of metal, the walls covered in blinking lights and foreign technology that Lloyd had never imagined could exist. In the very center of the room was an empty platform.

"So this is the control room…" Genis marveled.

"So the forsaken Chosen and her entourage of vermin has finally arrived," a voice spoke from a point unseen. Lloyd's head shot up, tracking the sound. A large chair descended from the ceiling to hover just above the platform. On the seat of the chair lounged Magnius, leader of the eastern ranch. "And she brought her mascot, too."

Lloyd noted the bruises ringing his neck with satisfaction. Magnius, in his turn, surveyed the beings before him with undisguised amusement.

"For…saken?" Kratos repeated slowly, blinking.

"Magnius!" Chocolat barked, sounding angrier than Lloyd had ever heard her. "Give Lloyd back his Exsphere!"

"His Exsphere?" Magnius repeated, chuckling. "Don't you mean my Exsphere? He stole it from us, after all." The half-elf reached into his shirt and withdrew a small blue gem on the end of a necklace chain. "Tell that brat to come get it himself if he wants it. I would welcome the opportunity to repay him for these bruises."

"You'll never get Nix again," Genis spat, bringing out his kendama. "Your time ends here!"

At that moment, several Desians appeared from behind the platform, moving to encircle the group. They drew into a tight knot, ringed all around by the Desians' swords.

"We're surrounded…" Colette's voice was a hoarse whisper.

"Hahaha! Just like a bunch of stupid vermin!" Magnius laughed heartily. He leaned forward, a sneer on his face. "I know your every move. And I know about those inferior beings trying to escape, too."

One of the flat screens behind Magnius suddenly flickered to life. Lloyd jerked back in shock. A tiny Neil, no bigger than the pad of his paw, ran across the screen, herding a group of equally shrunken prisoners ahead of him. They appeared to be in a miniature reproduction of the ranch's hallways, crossing a wide room over a catwalk. For some reason, though, everything seemed flat, and the tiny world was cut off at the edges where the screen ended. Perhaps it was a window, behind which Neil had become the subject of a horrible shrinking experiment? (He vaguely recalled that Neil had separated to take the captives to safety, but it was hazy; he'd been thinking like a wolf at the time.)

"How did Neil get in there?" Colette gasped, following Lloyd's thoughts.

"That's a projector. A product of magitechnology," Kratos explained to her.

"It's a device that displays images of people and things that are far away," Raine further elaborated. Then, with grim realization, "We were displayed on here as well."

Lloyd stared in rapt horror at the images. Somewhere, Neil was really hurrying the prisoners through the halls, he knew. He watched, unable to look away as the door Neil and the others were running towards slammed shut ahead of them. The tiny Neil wheeled around back the way they'd come, but halted as that door slammed closed as well. The prisoners milled back and forth like a flock of anxious chickens.

"Oh no!" Genis's voice was a cry of despair. "They're trapped!"

"Hahahaha!" Magnius laughed again, amused by the boy's dismay. "A wasted effort! Everything you've done is meaningless!" Lloyd whipped around to face the red-haired half-elf, his face fixed in the most disgusted expression a wolf's muzzle could manage. It was revolting, the pleasure he took in others' despair. Well, half-elves were, after all, half-human as well. It was only to be expected.

The half-elf continued to revel in their helplessness. Lloyd saw, out of the corner of his eye, Kratos go for his sword. That wouldn't do a thing, he thought. All of them together couldn't take out both Magnius and all of his guards. Not now, surrounded as they were. If something could take out a few of the Desians, though, it would give them a fighting chance…

Lloyd sighed to himself. Of course, it was always the same. The humans would be helpless without him.

A sudden bunching of his muscles was all the warning any of them had before Lloyd sprang, right onto the chest of the nearest soldier. His claws scored lines across the man's unarmored midsection, drawing howls of agony. The wolf left him writhing and bleeding on the floor in favor of whirling around and clamping his jaws down on the haft of the spear another Desian had been thrusting at him. He snapped it with a quick flick of the jaw and lunged for the woman's leg.

Once she was incapacitated, Lloyd turned his attention towards his true target: Magnius. More specifically, the Exsphere that Magnius still held. The half-elf, still surprised by the sudden outbreak of violence, was unprepared when eighty pounds of canine crashed into his chest. Magnius let out a grunt that turned into a shout when one of Lloyd's flailing paws caught him in his tender neck. Lloyd pressed his paw down harder, his neck shooting forward to clamp his jaws onto Magnius's fingers. The half-elf released the necklace with a howl, and Lloyd retreated back to his friends with his prize. The other Desians had attacked, but with two of their number down, the regeneration group was holding their own admirably.

Lloyd tossed his head back, thrusting the necklace into the air. It came down around his neck neatly, the pendant swinging down to smack into his chest with the same gut-wrenching ache and soft glow as before. The necklace vanished as it fused with him—going wherever it was that his clothes went when he changed, Lloyd supposed. It was a necklace, after all.

At that moment, a different feeling tugged at Lloyd's belly. The wolf hunched in on himself, his throat convulsing. This was… almost like what had happened to him at the Seal of Fire! The wolf coughed twice, his tail and legs stiff with pain. His stomach churned and bucked wildly, as if it were trying to escape. No, Lloyd thought, more as if something inside it were trying to escape.

No, he thought again, more as if _two _somethings were trying to escape…

"Urgh!" Magnius sat up, his face a mottled plum color with rage and humiliation. He clutched his bleeding fingers to his chest, his other hand massaging his abused throat. "You filthy vermin! Well you should cower. I'll release the Exspheres on all those prisoners and turn them into monsters here where you can watch!"

"No! You can't do that!" Colette cried, frantic.

"Why are you frightened?" Magnius sneered. "You have that mangy animal to protect you. I hear he's quite good at tearing monsters apart… Monsters like Marble."

"What?" Chocolat jerked back as if she'd been slapped. Her eyes flickered, trying to compute what the Desian had just said. Lloyd whimpered like a kicked puppy.

_Please, no, anything but this! This isn't how she was supposed to find out! Please don't do it here, like this! Please no! Chocolat…_

"Haven't they told you? Dear old granny Marble was sent to Iselia ranch," Magnius related with disgusting relish, "where she was killed by that mutt there. What a pitiful way to go!" The girl's eyes filled with tears. Lloyd flinched, the churning in his gut increasing exponentially. Lloyd prayed he didn't throw up right now.

"It wasn't like that!" Genis denied, his voice high with distress. "Nix and I tried to save her! But the Desians turned her into a monster, and…"

"…the boy's beast killed her," Magnius finished cruelly. Lloyd whined piercingly, sounding as if he were dying. He felt it, too, watching Chocolat shake her head slowly in disbelief, her face streaked with tears.

_Chocolat…!_

"No…" she whispered. Lloyd crept forward despite the dizzy nausea that threatened to make him pass out if he moved too suddenly. Chocolat stumbled back from him, panicked. "No, get away!"

"Chocolat…!" Raine's warning was too late. The girl staggered backwards, right into the arms of two Desian soldiers. Their hands clamped down on her arms like shackles, making her a prisoner once more. Lloyd snarled loudly at them, his head going light and fuzzy.

_No! Chocolat!_

"Let her go!" Genis hollered. Lloyd stepped forward, gathering himself to spring on his little sister's captors and rip them apart. He pulled up sharply a moment later, eyes widening.

"Leave me alone!" Chocolat shrieked. Lloyd fell back in shock. Chocolat put down her head and shouted at the top of her lungs. "GET AWAY FROM ME, YOU MONSTER!"

Lloyd stopped. Moving, breathing, thinking, feeling. He just stopped. He barely even heard Genis and Colette pleading with Chocolat to see sense. He could barely see Magnius gesture dismissively at his subordinates. Lloyd hunched over, his stomach flipping around as if to leap right up his throat, his throat tightening to the point that he had to gasp for breath.

"…_Am I… a monster…?"_

"_No, Nix! Never!"_

"_See? He's a good boy."_

_Chocolat…!_

"_He's just a freak, an orphan, and a thief!"_

"_Scum like you are the ones that should be going to the ranch instead of my husband."_

"_He who puts to death, huh?"_

_No! Chocolat!_

"_Vaf, what…? What have you done?"_

_You reap what you sow._

"_GET AWAY FROM ME, YOU MONSTER!"_

"_CHOCOLAT!_" Lloyd lifted his head and howled as loudly as his lungs and throat could go, every part of him on fire.

"What the…?" Magnius jerked back, gaping at the howling wolf. In that moment of distraction, Kratos was there, his sword flashing once. Magnius's head fell one way, his body another.

"Kratos…? Svafnir…?" Genis's head whirled trying to take it all in. Lloyd turned at the sudden rush of blood-smell, taking in the dead body of Magnius. Rage-filled eyes turned on Kratos.

"You…!" Kratos grunted as the back of his head hit the ground, Lloyd standing snarling on his chest, where he had landed. The wolf stuck his muzzle inches away from the mercenary's face and growled. "You cheated me of my revenge! I want to kill him! I have to KILL HIM!"

"Genis, control your dog!" Kratos barked after a momentary pause. He couldn't dwell on it right now. There were more urgent things to take care of. The half-elf scuttled forward, cautiously laying a hand on Svafnir's side.

"Come on, Vaf," he murmured. "Get off of Kratos."

"Grah…!" With an inarticulate noise of fury, Lloyd complied. Kratos climbed to his feet, looking with distaste at the bloodstains Lloyd had dripped onto his clothes. Someone—Colette, Lloyd guessed—was crying in little gasps, trying to stifle it.

"Come, we must hurry," Raine materialized beside Kratos. "I managed to work the ranch controls and open the doors for Neil and the others. I've programmed the ranch to self-destruct in ten minutes. We must leave immediately."

"Self-destruct?!" Genis yelped. He yelped again when he abruptly found himself facedown on something furry that shifted beneath him. Lloyd sprinted down the halls of the ranch with Genis on his back, his only thoughts of anguish and cheated revenge. As they ran, he could hear Raine and Kratos having a shouted conversation about what they would do with the prisoners, their sentences tossed back and forth between gasps for breath.

A brown blur shot past Neil, who stood at the entrance to the ranch as if debating whether or not to go back in.

"Run, you idiot! The whole place is coming down!" the blur cried. Neil hesitated, but was soon convinced when Raine, Kratos, and Colette also streamed past him. Seconds after they had emerged, there was a ground-shaking explosion. A mushroom-shaped cloud of fire punched its way through the roof of the ranch, quickly falling back down to drape itself over the entirety of the complex. The roar of flames could be heard all the way from Palmacosta, a banner of coal-black smoke snaking its way into the air like a flag of mourning.

The regeneration group lay on the ground in various attitudes of 'duck-and-cover' a few yards away from the city. Slowly, when it seemed that the worst was over, they crawled to their knees, gazing around dazedly as if surprised to find themselves where they were. Lloyd alone popped to his feet in a single breath, looking horror-struck at the bonfire behind them.

"Chocolat!" he moaned in despair.

"Don't worry," Raine said, looking in the same direction. "Before I programmed the doors, I checked the screens. They've taken her to a different location. She's safe."

"Oh, thank the spirits!" Lloyd practically collapsed in relief. "Celsius, Sylph, and Shadow, I thought I'd lost her…" Kratos's head twitched around, his eyebrows shooting up. He recognized that oath…

"Svafnir… you… you can talk?" Genis whispered, thunderstruck. Lloyd turned to his friend almost sheepishly.

"Um… it seems that way, doesn't it?"

"Could you talk this whole time?!" the half-elf rose to his feet, attempting to tower over the wolf. Lloyd was, in fact, probably the only person in Palmacosta that Genis could tower over, he thought. The wolf cowered a little.

"Kind of…"

"Chocolat knew," Raine stated. "Cacao, too."

"And Marble," Genis added, thinking of the old woman's final words to the dog. "And Nix must know, too, huh?"

"Y-yeah," Lloyd nodded. "Of course."

"Why didn't you tell us?" Colette asked sadly.

"I'm a freak, Colette," Lloyd cast her a despondent look. "I'd be exterminated faster than you can say 'Gnome' if people knew."

"I guess," Genis muttered. Just another lie Nix had told him…

"We will discuss this later," Raine promised (or threatened), brushing off her knees as she stood. "For now, we should see to Dorr."

"Agreed," Kratos nodded, his eyes narrowed. He would not let this slip by, he promised himself. He wanted to know exactly what this animal was and why it used the same invectives as his son. At least one thing was sure, now, though: this beast wasn't Noishe.

Originally, he had thought it might be, since it seemed to have somehow appeared out of nowhere after the… events following Anna's death—around the same time Noishe had disappeared. Now he saw it had been a foolish hope that, somehow, the protozoan's color scheme had changed over the past fourteen years. Noishe definitely couldn't talk, and never would until he evolved into a human in the far distant future.

And he definitely hadn't had an Exsphere before. Kratos would have noticed.

~ ~ ~~ ~ ~

Of course, things just couldn't go smoothly for Lloyd. It wasn't enough that his foster sister had been taken away right in front of him, cursing him at the top of her lungs. It wasn't enough that now his father was doubly suspicious of him or that his own body seemed to be falling apart as time went by. It wasn't nearly enough that he'd been cheated of revenge or that his hero was a traitor or that his secret was _this_ close to coming out! No, of course not. They also had to run into Cacao on their way to the city hall.

"Chosen! Svafnir!" the woman ran forward from the doorway of Marble's Shop as the group passed, seizing hold of Colette's sleeve as she passed. "Please, tell me what has happened to Chocolat."

"Oh…" Colette shifted, her gaze unable to meet Cacao's.

"We're so sorry," Raine rescued her. "Chocolat was taken to a different ranch before we could save her."

"Oh no…" Cacao's face was pale as a sheet, her hair bearing streaks of gray that had not been there only days before. She turned her gaze to the sagging wolf. "Please, Svafnir, you must save her!"

"She might not let him…" Colette whispered, clasping her hands beneath her chin.

"What do you mean? Why not?"

"I killed her," Lloyd spoke up, his voice breaking in the middle. "I killed her, Cacao! I killed Marble!"

"Svafnir…!" Cacao's hands flew to her mouth in shock, both at what had been said and who had said it. "You spoke…!"

"We already know," Genis told her. "But what he said, it's not true. Nix and I tried to help Marble, but the Desians found out and turned her into a monster as punishment. Svafnir protected me when she attacked, and she remembered who she was long enough to grab Forcystus and… then she… exploded…"

"Oh, Martel…" Cacao's voice was the merest thread. "I didn't know such a thing had happened to my mother…"

"Cacao, I'm sorry," Lloyd thrust his head against her knee, heedless of the dried flakes of blood that rubbed off onto her skirt. "I didn't mean for her to die! I was just trying to help!"

"Hush," Cacao rubbed his ears comfortingly. "I was prepared for something like this from the moment she was taken away to the ranch, but Chocolat was very close to her…"

"I swear I'll rescue her," Lloyd promised, his voice muffled by her skirt. "I'll get her back." _Even if she hates me forever…_

"I believe you," Cacao smiled tiredly, giving the wolf one last pat before turning away and retreating back into Marble's Shop. Her tread was slower and heavier than usual. Lloyd watched her go with the expression of a dog being left behind, alone.

"We should hurry," Raine reminded them, leading the way.

"Come on, Vaf," Genis murmured, slinging an arm around the forlorn animal and herding him along.

The Governor-General's office was empty when they entered it. Lloyd looked around curiously. He'd never been in here before, not as a dog and not as a human. He wondered if the carpet was really green or red. He remembered that it was now possible for him to ask one of the others, but refrained. Not only would it be supremely pointless, but it would bring up the question of how he knew red and green were separate colors if he couldn't tell them apart.

"I hear voices from below," he informed Genis, cocking an ear in the direction of a door set off to the right side of the front entrance.

"I don't hear anything," the half-elf countered.

"I hear them, too," Colette put in.

"There's no one here anyway," Kratos pointed out. "We should head down to the basement." The group crept through the door Lloyd had indicated and down the stairs. At the bottom they paused, peering around the corner into the room. Lloyd hung back, unable to see any of it, but hearing perfectly.

"When will my wife… When will Clara return to her original form?" That was Dorr's voice. Lloyd growled slightly. What was he talking about, 'original form'?

"Not yet," replied the voice of someone Lloyd didn't know. "You still haven't paid us enough gald. You've been paying us less and less."

"This is the best I can do!" Dorr sounded desperate. Lloyd smelled the salty smell of nervous sweat. _Good, _he thought. _Let him writhe. _"The tolls, the municipal taxes, the offering to the Church of Martel… there's nowhere left to squeeze more money from!"

"Well, I suppose this will do…" Lloyd could practically hear the smirk in the stranger's voice, "…for today. I'm sure Lord Magnius will remove the demon seed depending on your next contribution." Lloyd stiffened. Demon seed? Was that…? Could that be…? He looked down at the jewel on his paw.

_Could it be that Clara's been transformed like me?_

_Is this… a demon seed?_

There was the sound of footsteps that gradually grew fainter, followed by a door slamming somewhere above them. The stranger must have left by a different exit.

Raine, Kratos, Neil, Colette, and Genis chose that moment to step out into the open all at once. Lloyd followed behind them, the fur on his spine and tail beginning to fluff out. He peered between Colette and Genis to see Dorr staring in shock. Beside him was a kind of large box covered by a cloth, and behind him was…

Kilia. Lloyd paused. He had nothing against Kilia, and it would be cruel to kill her own father right in front of her… But Dorr couldn't be allowed to get away with what he'd done. Maybe Colette could lead Kilia away when the time came. Lloyd vaguely noticed that she didn't seem nearly as surprised to see them as her dad.

"Hello, Governor-General," Raine said placidly. "I believe we have a few things to discuss."

"What are you doing here?!" Dorr's head swiveled frantically from face to face. "Neil! Where's Neil?!"

_Neil must have been left to guard the room upstairs, _Lloyd guessed.

"Governor-General…" Neil trailed sadly. "I can't believe you've been working together with the Desians."

"So that's it… You betrayed me!" Dorr's handsome face glazed over with ugly rage, his forehead gleaming with sweat.

"Governor-General! The Chosen destroyed the ranch for us," Neil said desperately, leaning forward and holding out his hands. Lloyd's ears twitched, hearing Kilia's faint gasp as Neil continued to plead. "Please, stop this foolishness…"

"What?" Dorr's face turned ashen beneath the red blotches on his face, leaving his skin a very unhealthy-looking color. His face was slack with disbelief. "…What have you done?! You…" his voice rose, "…destroyed Clara's chance of living!"

"I heard that Clara had died five years ago," Lloyd spoke up, making sure to show his fangs. Dorr gulped, then frowned.

"You… You're that brat's mutt, aren't you?"

"Brat?" Lloyd barked. "You were kind to… Lloyd. He looked up to you! How could you do this to the city? To Kilia? How could you betray everyone like this?"

"Unlike you, we actually did something," Genis added. "The ranch is gone and the prisoners are saved."

"…Saved?! Th… that's funny!" Dorr laughed crazily, his hand going up to cover part of his face. "All right, then! Just try saving Clara!" He whirled around and seized a handful of the cloth behind him. There was a moment where he just held it, trembling, before ripping it away with a sudden, violent motion. The blanket pooled on the floor, leaving Lloyd gaping at what it had concealed.

A cage. It was a cage of metal bars taller even than Dorr. And inside it…

_Marble._

"Save my wife!" Dorr cried with crazed triumph.

The monster shrieked, rolling its thumblike head back on its shoulders, its knuckles dragging against the ground at its sides. Lloyd stared in horror at the blue sphere in the middle of its face—which he now knew to be an Exsphere—and the veins of pulsing color that twined over its dried-lava skin like mutant ivy.

Beside him, Lloyd felt Kratos flinch violently backwards with a choked noise of shock. Lloyd looked up sharply to see that his father's face had drained of all color and his hand was gripping his sword so tightly that it looked painful, his eyes riveted on the creature in the cage. Genis was just as pale, his hands creeping up towards his face.

"Ahh! Wh… what's that monster?"

"She's crying… She's crying out in pain," Colette's eyes were swimming, her voice choked. "You mustn't call her a monster…"

"Clara," Lloyd whispered, recognizing the shredded dress that hung off of the creature's massive shoulders. "That's Clara… But you told everyone that she was dead!"

"My father, the previous Governor-General, was a fool," Dorr scoffed. "Because of his defiant stance against the Desians, they killed him, then planted the demon seed in my wife as a warning. If I cooperate with them, they will give me the medicine to save her."

"But… that means you're betraying the people in this city!" Genis protested.

"Who cares! It was the only way to save Clara!" Dorr lifted his hands to tear at his hair. "But it's all been for nothing… I've lost the only chance I had to save her. And it's all because of you!" He turned wild eyes on Lloyd. "I should have let the townspeople kill you when I had the chance! You and that vagrant you follow. You're an abomination!"

"What did you say…?" Lloyd slowly lifted his lips into a snarl. "You…!" He raised his voice to a yell. "Where the hell do you get off calling me that when your own wife looks like _that_?! You're the worst kind of hypocrite. Like Clara deserves to be cured and I don't! And why? Because you know her and you don't know me? Are you really talking about sacrificing the many for the sake of the few in front of the damn _Chosen_?! Sweet disciple of everlasting ice, are you out of your _mind_?!"

"Svafnir, please stop!" Colette piped, sounding teary. "It's only natural to put the ones you love above the well-being of strangers…"

"Not when you're the Governor-General of a city!" Lloyd denied. "You have a responsibility to the people who trusted you enough to elect you! They all look up to you so much, and you're doing things like this…" He dropped his head for a moment before looking back up with fire in his eyes. "People like you are the reason I have no home! People like you are why I'm hunted wherever I go! People like you are the reason both half-elves and full elves all want all humans _dead_! People like you are the reason I hate humans! I hate you! I hate you so damn much…!" If wolves had tear ducts, Lloyd might have been crying at that moment. As it was, his throat tightened until he couldn't speak, choking off the hateful words that clamored for release.

"Svafnir!" Colette tried again. "Please! I'll… I'll help you save your wife! If there's medicine somewhere to help her, I promise I'll find it! So please…"

"…There's no use," a quiet voice broke into the Chosen's heartfelt promise. Lloyd looked to the side. It was Kilia. Her voice, though… It sounded strange… "There's no way to remove a demon seed once it has sprouted," Kilia continued, walking forward. She had a strange gait that Lloyd had never seen before, swinging as if her legs were far longer than they really were.

As she passed her father, she lifted one small hand. Something flashed in it. Something metal. In a single movement, her hand came down, driving the knife she held deeply into Dorr's kidney. The man froze, gaping in shock, before his eyes rolled up and he collapsed to the floor. A pool of blood rapidly began to spread.

"…Kilia… what are you—" Dorr managed to croak, a trickle of red seeping out of his mouth.

"What? Isn't she his daughter?" Genis looked quickly between Lloyd and the eerily grinning girl.

"No…" Lloyd realized slowly. "That doesn't smell like Kilia… she smells like… a half-elf…"

"Good guess, doggie!" Kilia threw back her head to laugh in a way the old Kilia would never have done. Her voice suddenly took on a different quality, her expression somewhat manic. There was a poof of smoke, and the blonde little girl was gone.

In her place was a creature the like of which Lloyd had never seen before. It had shiny, purple skin and two twists of orange hair on either side of its round head. Its limbs were long and spindly, as was its torso.

"I am a servant of Pronyma, leader of the Five Grand Cardinals that rule over the Desians," the squeaky-voiced demon said with a giggle. "I was merely assigned to observe the new human cultivation technique developed my Magnius. There's no way that a superior half-elf such as I could have a fool of a father like this!" The demon kicked at the prone body of Dorr, who coughed wetly.

"A… fool of a father…?" Colette repeated quietly, incredulously.

"Just look at him!" the Kilia-creature laughed. "He didn't even notice his own daughter was dead… because he was too busy chasing after medicine that doesn't exist… in order to save his monster wife! Hahahaha!"

"Don't call her a monster, you hypocrite!" Lloyd barked, springing at the demon. What felt like a rod of iron—but was really its arm—swatted him away. When he had climbed to his feet and shaken off his daze, Lloyd saw that his friends had joined the fight. Neil was hanging back, watching the proceedings with a glazed look on his face. He was probably in shock.

The whole thing didn't take long—not with five people against one child-sized demon, no matter how powerful it was. With its final attack, the demon shot out a blast of dark energy right at Lloyd's face before collapsing to the floor. The wolf flew through the air with a yelp. He crashed into the bars of Clara's cage, eliciting a burbling cry from the ex-woman. There was a clanking noise as Lloyd got back onto his paws, and something nudged him in the side.

The next second, Lloyd was bowled over by something that rushed past with a roar. Something else hard and cold smacked into his head, dazing him for a few moments. Somebody shouted. Lloyd rolled to his feet for the third time, thoroughly sick of being knocked down, and looked around.

Clara, the monster, was gone. What Lloyd had felt nudging him must have been the door swinging open, jarred by his impact against it, he thought. Then Clara had rushed out and thrown him aside, and the swinging door had caught him in the head. From overhead, in the Governor-General's office, he could hear faint roaring and smashing noises that gradually grew fainter and fainter until there was only the ragged breathing of his friends to fill the silence.

Clara was gone.

And, Lloyd thought, looking at the crumpled purple figure on the floor, so was Kilia.

The wolf went to stand over Dorr's body, his paws feeling like lead weights as he dragged them into position. His head hung down, the tip of his nose against the man's shoulder. The scent of blood was so overpowering that Lloyd could practically feel the liquid in his own mouth, slippery against his tongue.

This wasn't what he'd thought it would be, this revenge… He did feel satisfaction from it, truly he did, but it didn't get rid of the other feelings. He still hated Dorr for what he'd done… and somehow, he still admired Dorr like he had before—even if he now knew it had all been a sham. Seeing him bleeding on the floor stirred the same pity in Lloyd that it would have if it had been anyone else in his place.

"…Kilia," Dorr coughed, sending another wash of blood over his chin. "Is she really dead…?"

Lloyd pulled back, his eyes meeting the Governor-General's dying ones. He hated this man. He could tell him that his daughter was dead and it was all his fault and what a terrible parent and person he was. This was the man who had sold out Palmacosta, who had all but handed Chocolat to the Desians, who had essentially killed Chocolat's father, and who had planned to kill Lloyd's only friends.

…All for the sake of saving his wife.

Family was something Lloyd understood.

"Don't worry," he offered a small, doggish smile and a weak wag of the tail. "You'll see her again… though maybe not for a while. Clara, too."

The corners of Dorr's mouth curved into a small smile. "That's… good…" he managed. The light in his eyes was fading by the moment. "You… what's your name?"

Lloyd hesitated, not quite sure which name he should give anymore.

"I'm… he who puts to rest," he finally replied. Somewhere between his mouth and the listeners' ears, the word 'rest' transformed itself into 'death'. Dorr's eyes slid shut, acknowledging the not-quite-spoken implication.

"I see…"

"Professor Sage, help him!" Colette suddenly entreated, turning a tear-stained face towards her teacher.

"Healing Wind," the half-elf woman intoned, holding her staff over the Governor-General's body. Green light engulfed him, but soon faded. Nothing much had changed. Dorr's eyes, though, opened once more, as if slightly reenergized by the ineffective healing, to focus on Lloyd.

"Please…" he said in a raspy whisper. "Please, help everyone that I have failed. Chocolat, Clara, Kilia, that boy of yours, the townsfolk… don't let them suffer on my behalf…"

"Finally noble in death, huh?" Lloyd shot before he could help himself. Dorr's wince reminded him that this was a last request from a dying man, and he softened. "I'm sorry. I'll save who I can, but… not everyone accepts salvation. At least, not from me they don't."

"_GET AWAY FROM ME, YOU MONSTER!"_

"We'll help him," Colette spoke up tearfully. "I promise to save them all."

"Thank… you…" with a final rasp, Dorr was gone. Lloyd whined once—again, unable to help himself—and took a step back. Every sense was screaming _death_ to him. The reek of blood, the utter silence of breath, the copper tang on his tongue, the slickness beneath his paws, the blank eyes that stared back into his…

And, despite it all, Lloyd's wolf brain was telling him that he was hungry. He had smelled too much blood that day, had taken too many lives, and now his brain was calling him ten kinds of fool for letting such a fresh, easy meal go to waste. It was so jarring against his human mind's grief that Lloyd found himself taking a step forward, not quite sure whether he was going to pay his respects or tear into the corpse with his teeth.

"Keep back!" Evidently, Kratos's mind was easily able to parallel Lloyd's conflicted thoughts. Either that or he had had some kind of practice reading the intentions of wild animals. Whichever it was, it was enough to jerk Lloyd's mind completely back to 'human' with the force of his indignation at the inferred accusation.

So, both to prove him wrong and to distract himself from his own instincts, Lloyd tipped back his head and began to howl.


	11. Enlightened, More or Less

**Kitty: Okay, people, I've spoiled you up until now with fairly frequent updates. I regret to inform you that we are now hard on the heels of my pre-written chapters (I'm currently working on number fifteen) so updates are going to slow down a bit. Forgive me.**

**Genis: In other news, I would advise everyone in the eastern US to stay off of the roads from now on, for the love of God.**

**Kitty: I just got my learner's permit.**

**Zelos: Egad! Is nowhere safe?! I hope whoever gave that to you is happy. Every vehicular homicide you commit from now on is on his hands.**

**Kitty: Vehicular manslaughter, thank you very much. I intend to be the first person to ever cause a thirty-car pileup in a rural area. Or, well, I don't INTEND it, but it'll probably happen anyway.**

**Genis: This maniac-on-wheels does not own Tales of Symphonia. Thankfully, neither does she own a car. **

**Kitty: Yet!**

**Zelos: Enjoy!**

~ ~ ~~ ~ ~

**Chapter Eleven**

**Enlightened, More or Less**

"_How much further do I have to go?_

_And how much longer till I finally know?_

_Cause I'm looking and I just can't see what's in front of me."_

—_Hoobastank, 'Crawling in the Dark'_

Lloyd didn't speak much over the next few days. The others talked with Neil and planned their next move, all the while casting looks at the silent wolf that varied from wary to worried. He listened apathetically as they decided to head for Thoda Geyser next, and followed them apathetically as they headed out of Palmacosta.

He didn't even bother saying goodbye to Cacao. What was the point, when by now she must have heard about Dorr and Kilia? As selfish as it was, he couldn't stand to hear her reject him like Chocolat had. So he left.

Genis attempted to draw him into conversation a few times, and Lloyd always felt a guilty pang when the half-elf finally gave up after a few monosyllabic answers. Colette did her best, too, though she was clearly suffering from her own grief over both Palmacosta and her own body's continued uncooperativeness. Lloyd, for his part, took to running away at night—miles and miles away—to change back into a human. It wouldn't do for him to lose himself in 'Svafnir' as he had done in the Palmacostan ranch again. He couldn't forget a single detail of what had happened in that town. If he allowed himself to, he would be the worst kind of coward, not only running away from his problems, but running right back to the delusion that had caused them in the first place: the delusion of humanity.

For several sleepless nights, Lloyd stargazed and thought. He had never been to school a day in his life, but even he could follow a few logical thoughts, and that was sometimes enough to answer his questions.

First: why could he suddenly speak as a wolf as well as as a human? Wolves' throats were physically incapable of making human noises, as he had discovered at a young age for himself. So for him to make those sounds while still canine would mean that his throat, at least, was still human. This, in turn, led him to his second question: Did that mean that Cacao had been right? Was his Exsphere finally losing its power, after all these years?

The answer was probably 'yes'. Lloyd, unsure how to feel about that, followed through on the thought. Things rarely changed all on their own. Something had to have happened to make his Exsphere lose its power. He hadn't been using it more than usual, so that wasn't it. What else had happened recently that might have affected it?

His hand reached up to rest at the dip of his collarbone, on top of his necklace's 'pendant'.

His new Exsphere, his old Exsphere, his mother's Exsphere. The Angelus Project. It was immediately after he'd equipped it that the change had occurred. He'd been feeling queasy, too. He remembered comparing the feeling in his gut to that of two creatures fighting each other inside of him.

Exspheres worked by leeching power from those that they touched, he knew that much from Marble. But, obviously, the output of power was greater than the input when equipped with a Keycrest. Or, possibly, when the Exsphere already had power stored up within it from a previous owner. Either way, it gave power as well as took. But if one were to equip two Exspheres, then two sources of power would be feeding into his body.

Lloyd's first reaction was horror. Surely such an influx of energy would kill him—if not now, then eventually? But, he thought, those powers would mix with his own once they entered him, and then…

The Exspheres would feed off of each other as well as off of him. And since his power was less than that of his Exspheres', they would feed off of each other _more_ than they fed off of him. That would mean that less of each Exsphere's power would go into him—that they would have less effect.

That they would eventually burn each other out.

Lloyd took almost an entire night to consider the implications of these conclusions, staring alternately at the sky, his wrist, and his feet. The more he thought about it, the more sense it made. When he'd first equipped the Angelus Project, he'd felt odd and suddenly stopped sleeping. Then, when he'd lost it to Magnius, he completely gave in to his animal side, forgetting that he was 'human' at all. And when he'd gotten it back, his transformation had ceased to be complete anymore.

So, if it was true, what did it mean for him? Lloyd never quite figured that one out. He'd been a wolf for so long that the thought of having to remain human for the rest of his life scared and depressed him. Life would be much harder once he was stripped of his only real defense. Then again, if he was only human, he might be more accepted by other humans, and he'd never be called a monster again.

And… what about his mom's Exsphere? If it became simply a pendant in truth, he would wear it proudly. But what sort of transformation was it supposed to bring about anyway—uninfluenced by any other Exspheres? What horrible, amazing thing might he become if he simply left it to change him? Sleeplessness wasn't all that terrible, once one got used to it, after all, though Lloyd couldn't for the life of him think of a creature that never slept.

It all made Lloyd's head hurt. By the time they had reached Thoda Geyser, he had all but given up trying to make sense of his own desires. He'd already discovered firsthand with Dorr that it was possible to feel many conflicting emotions at once, and that it was impossible to satisfy them all. So it was that as he climbed into the small washtub beside Genis—the only one small enough to fit in a tub alongside him—he still had both Exspheres equipped.

Of course, if he hadn't been thinking about it so hard, he might have realized that confining oneself in a small space with someone determined to make you talk was, in hindsight, potentially detrimental to his 'keep quiet and hope they forget I can talk' plan.

Or, in layman's terms: He was going to have to talk if he didn't want Genis to tip him out of the washtub.

"What's been with you lately?" the half-elf boy demanded, wobbling a little as their little craft crested an even littler wave.

"…There's not much to say," Lloyd answered, looking away.

"Oh, sure," Genis snorted, using his paddle to fend off a floating tangle of weeds. "And it's not because you're feeling sorry for yourself after everything that happened in Palmacosta?"

"I am feeling sorry for myself," Lloyd countered. "I'm feeling a little sorrier for Cacao and Clara, actually. Besides, you'd feel sorry for yourself too if Kratos kept looking at you every night like he was considering spearing _you_ over the fire instead of our usual game animal du jour."

"Ah-ha!" Genis crowed, grinning. "You _do_ want to talk!" Then, smile fading, "So why don't you? I mean, it was a little weird at first talking to a wolf that talked back, but now it's just like having another friend along. You can talk to me and Colette about anything." Genis's smile faded even further. "…Do you miss Nix? Lloyd, I mean. Is that it?"

"No, nothing like that," Lloyd laughed a little. The thought of missing himself was a little ridiculous, but he knew that to Genis it was probably a reasonable assumption. Canines were notoriously loyal, after all. "I've just been thinking about some things, that's all. And I think I've finally decided."

"Decided what?" Genis asked, curious.

"I'm going to stick with you guys," Lloyd's muzzle crinkled into a smile. "If you haven't tried to kill me yet, I doubt you'll suddenly change your minds. And really, what kind of friend would I be if I just abandoned you guys?" He didn't say his other reasons: that he would have a better chance of saving Chocolat with them than he would alone, or that he could hardly go back to Palmacosta now, but if he went anywhere else he might never meet up with his father again. Those seemed too selfish to say aloud.

"I didn't know you were considering anything else!" Genis smacked the wolf's shoulder. "Like I'd let you go off on your own, stupid dog."

"Wolf!" Lloyd barked.

"Dogs are just domesticated wolves," Genis countered smugly. "Therefore, you're a dog."

"Grr," Lloyd mock-growled at him. "You're insufferable!"

"Ooh, where'd you learn such big words, huh, boy?" Genis taunted, putting on a sticky-sweet, talking-to-cute-little-animals voice. "You want a treat? Do you, boy?"

"And you wonder why I wouldn't talk to you!"

By the time the group had arrived on the shores of Thoda Island, Genis and Lloyd were bickering merrily, in higher spirits than either of them had been in a long time.

Retrieving the Spiritua Statue—which, Genis had explained, was what they had been discussing in the church back in Palmacosta—was a simple matter for Lloyd. Genis simply cast Icicle and he trotted across the ice, clamped his jaws around it, and trotted back. The rough pads on his paws gave him more than enough traction on the slippery ice, and he was much faster than any of the bipeds could have been. Though he could have done without Genis's triumphant shout of "Fetch, boy!"

"Take your stupid statue," he mumbled, spitting the object out at Raine's feet.

"Be careful with that!" the teacher cried, stooping swiftly to scoop it up. Lloyd winced, and, sure enough… "This is an ancient relic, dating all the way back to…"

"The idiot who dropped it in a Geyser," Lloyd interrupted. "Lecture him, not me."

"It's all covered in drool now," Genis noted. His sister gasped loudly and began to swipe at the statue with her sleeve, babbling about the quality of the material or something. Lloyd tuned her out.

"Hey, Colette?" he addressed the blonde angel.

"Yes?" she looked down at him.

"Do you feel that? It feels like… mana. Close by," the wolf lifted his head as if to scent the air, though he did not inhale. Mana was not a scent so much as a feeling, like the tingling one felt in a limb that had fallen asleep just before the sensation turned painful.

"Mana?" Genis turned away from his sister, curious. "You can sense mana, too?"

"Of course," Lloyd nodded.

"All animals can sense mana because they are more in tune with the flow of nature than the rest of us," Raine broke in. "Elves can as well due to their own connection with nature, and half-elves are able to as well providing that the human blood within them does not outweigh the elf blood. It is theorized that humans lost this ability with the advent of the ancient magitechnology that separated them from the natural world. I suppose angels would be able to sense mana as well, of course, since they regulate it themselves."

"But I don't sense anything," Colette frowned.

"You're not a full angel yet," Kratos pointed out.

"This is all really fascinating," Lloyd yawned broadly. "Why don't we go see what's making it? It's coming from that billboard over there." The group moved towards the board, Lloyd leading the way. He rounded the structure to find himself nose-to-side with a stone pedestal that made his fur fluff up as if it were made of lightning.

"It's an Oracle Stone!" Colette exclaimed. "Right here behind the board!"

"That's an Oracle Stone?" Lloyd backed away quickly, not liking the tingling feeling. "That's really strange."

"How so?" Raine wanted to know.

"It doesn't feel the same as the mana when Colette broke the Seal of Fire and got her wings," Lloyd shivered a little, remembering the gut-twisting nausea he'd felt then. "Or the time she first met Remiel and got her Cruxis Crystal."

"What do you mean?" This time it was Kratos who spoke, his voice oddly sharp.

"I mean this one feels… more natural. The mana surge in the Triet Ruins _hurt_. It nearly made me hurl."

"I see," Kratos subsided.

"Maybe there's just less of it in the Stone," Colette suggested timidly.

"That's a good theory," Raine approved. "Too much of something you're sensitive to can be painful. Maybe there was just too much mana for you, Svafnir."

"Maybe," the wolf was doubtful. His nausea had persisted for quite a while after he'd fled the Seal.

"In any case, the Stone's presence means that this must be the Seal of Water," Raine continued. "Colette, put your hand on it so we can get going. We've delayed breaking this Seal too long."

"Yes, Professor," the girl nodded and obeyed. There was a cracking noise that made Lloyd flinch and whirl around. Some stones had come loose from the cliff face behind the Geyser and fallen to reveal a cave entrance behind them. The dark hole gaped about halfway up the wall, far out of their reach.

As if in answer to this thought, a beam of light suddenly shot out of the walkway's edge, extending until it hit the ledge on the opposite wall. The light flattened and seemed to solidify, becoming a transparent bridge that gleamed with iridescent rainbows like spilled oil.

"Come on, let's go!" Genis whooped, running onto the insubstantial bridge eagerly. Colette laughed and chased him, followed by Raine and Kratos. Lloyd hesitated. If Raine was right and he was sensitive to mana in concentrated doses, what would happen if his bare skin came in contact with that bridge? He hesitated long enough to see his friends reach the ledge safely and disappear into the cave without looking back, not thinking that any of them might be missing. Only Kratos paused at the entrance, glancing back at Lloyd before his eyes shifted to something beyond him.

At that moment, the wolf heard the staccato slap-slap-slap of feet hitting stone. He turned to see a familiar purple figure sprinting for the bridge. Her face was set in determination—real resolve this time, instead of the forced viciousness she'd displayed last time.

Lloyd glanced back at the other purple figure in the cave's mouth and nodded once. He'd take care of her. Kratos nodded back and vanished into the cavern. Lloyd turned back and took up a splay-legged position in the exact center of the walkway, bristling to make himself as large as he could and lowering his head in preparation.

Sheena skidded to a halt a few feet away from the wolf, blinking in surprise. She'd never seen him looking so fierce. It wasn't in keeping with the image she'd gained in the tunnels of an intelligent, harmless dog.

"Move aside!" she barked, shifting into a fighting stance. Lloyd shook his head and growled. "Corrine!" the girl shouted, flinging her arm out. The little fox appeared with a flip and a puff of smoke at her command. He feinted to the side, clearly trying to draw Lloyd away from the bridge. Lloyd didn't budge.

The fox changed his tack and made as if to dart between his paws and onto the bridge. Lloyd still didn't move. He knew the real danger came from Sheena getting past him, not Corrine. The fox could run all the way to Colette for all he cared. He knew he wouldn't kill her on his own.

Finally, Corrine ran a circle around Sheena's feet, yapping and lashing his tails scornfully at Lloyd, telling him that his mistress's head stood higher than Lloyd's. To any other wolf, a female with a higher head would have been a mortal insult that demanded a fight. Lloyd had to admit that the fox was clever. He still didn't move.

"It's not working, Sheena," Corrine finally complained. "He's not a normal wolf! Even a smart wolf should have tried to attack when I told him that… He's not even answering when I talk to him anymore!"

"Gah!" Sheena made a garbled noise of frustration. "What is wrong with this dog?!"

"Wolf!" Lloyd barked before he could help himself. Sheena went completely still, as did Corrine, both girl and fox gaping for a few moments.

"It can… It can _talk_?!" the brunette spluttered.

"Martel's blood," Lloyd swore, angry with himself for losing control. In his defense, he'd never had to worry about accidentally saying something when he was a wolf before. "You weren't supposed to know that…"

"Now I'm sure. You've got to be a Summon Spirit!" Sheena declared. "There's no way a wolf could talk!"

"It's the Exsphere," Lloyd growled shortly. "Now get lost. I'm mad enough to really bite you this time."

"Just try it!" Corrine bristled at the threat to his friend.

"I'm telling you one more time: move aside," Sheena slowly adopted her fighting stance once more. "This time I will kill the Chosen."

"You're not getting anywhere near her!" Lloyd countered. "Not while I'm alive."

"Then I'm sorry," Sheena gritted, "but I'll have to kill you, too!" She took a step forward, clearly meaning to charge. Lloyd braced himself to meet her, jaws open.

She hadn't taken two steps when Lloyd paused. His fur… it was lying flat again. He risked a quick look over his shoulder to confirm his suspicions.

Sheena continued her charge, faltering slightly when her opponent sat down and began to scratch his ear nonchalantly. She gritted her teeth and continued, quickly closing the gap between them.

"Sheena, look out!" Corrine's cry came too late. The wolf twisted out of her way, revealing what Sheena hadn't noticed until right then.

The bridge had disappeared.

Sheena dug in her heels, but her own momentum carried her forward, leaving her flailing on the very edge of the cliff. Below her, she could see the Geyser bubbling and frothing. She could feel its heat against her face as her foot slipped off the slick rocks and she plunged forward towards it.

There was a jolt that ran through Sheena's entire body, and a dull pressure against her stomach. The Geyser swayed beneath her, neither approaching nor retreating.

"Maiden of eternal mist, you're _heavy_!" a nearby voice growled. It was muffled, as if the speaker had something clenched between their teeth as they spoke. Slowly, jerkily, the Geyser seemed to recede beneath her, and Sheena soon found herself seated at the lip of the cliff once more. She quickly flipped around and scrambled away, only now realizing how close she had come to death.

"Sheena!" Corrine jumped into her arms. The girl cuddled her fox with relief, taking deep breaths to will away the shaking in her limbs. "I was so scared!"

"It's okay, I'm fine," Sheena assured the little Summon Spirit.

"You really do have a thing for falling into holes, huh?" a voice spoke from behind her. "I thought for sure you'd be able to stop in time. Sorry."

Sheena turned slowly, still clutching Corrine to her chest, to face the wolf behind her. She'd never seen a wolf look sheepish before, but this one seemed to manage it very well. A shred of pink fabric poked out of the corner of his mouth. The girl realized that as she had fallen, the wolf must have caught her sash in his mouth and hauled her up by it. He had saved her.

"Thank you," she bowed to the animal, exhaling shakily.

"For what?" the wolf cocked his head to the side, spitting out the scrap of fabric with a look of disgust. "I'm the one who caused you to fall."

"That was my own clumsiness," Sheena made a face, straightening. "Thank you for saving me, I mean."

"If you're grateful," the wolf suddenly looked as crafty as Corrine, "maybe you can do me a favor?"

"What is it?" the brunette shifted nervously. If he asked her to stop trying to kill the Chosen, she'd have to refuse.

"Don't tell anyone I can talk," the canine looked away. "I wasn't kidding when I said no one was supposed to know."

"Of course," Sheena was relieved. That was an easy one. She glanced up at the now-inaccessible cave mouth with exasperation—and maybe a tiny bit of relief. She couldn't get to the Chosen now, and when she came out the wolf would tell her that Sheena had come back. They'd be on their guard then.

"Let's go, Corrine," she sighed. The fox nodded and performed a disappearing somersault in a cloud of vapor. The girl turned away and began to trudge back towards the docks.

She'd get them next time.


	12. Nauseous

**Genis: Um… YearOfTheKitty isn't here right now. She's off… -squints out window- …rubbing her face on somebody's car…?**

**Zelos: Idiot. That's HER car. Her parents got her and her brother a Nissan Sentra so that he could commute to work and college and she could learn to drive.**

**Kitty: -pokes head in window- That's right! Nowhere really is safe now! I love my new car… it's all bright and yellow! (And if I hear one more 'Bumblebee' joke I am going to go foaming rabid. I used to like Transformers…) I named it Sunstreaker! **

**Genis: …You named your car? O.o**

**Kitty: Yep! Now, some of you might want to go back to the last chapter and re-read the final line, otherwise the opening line of this chapter might not make much sense to you. In addition, while it's not enough to up the rating to M, there is some… vaguely disturbing stuff at the end of this chapter and carrying over to the beginning of the next. Squeamish, proceed with caution. –ducks out of window to continue drooling all over her new car-**

**Genis: …Um… Enjoy? O.o**

~ ~ ~~ ~ ~

**Chapter Twelve**

**Nauseous**

"_I try to hold this under control_

_They can't help me, cause no one knows."_

—_Three Doors Down, 'Changes'_

Well, she wasn't entirely wrong.

The next time Lloyd saw Sheena was in the Balacruf Mausoleum, after fighting Iapyx and releasing the Seal of Wind. It had been several weeks since their brief encounter outside of the Seal of Water, and Lloyd had all but forgotten about the purple-clad assassin.

At that moment, though, he had all but forgotten his own name. As usual, once Colette had released the Seal of Wind, his guts had begun to rebel against him. The pain was twice as bad this time, as if punishing him for having escaped retribution at the Seal of Water. The wolf was hunched in on himself and whining lowly, trying to escape his friends' attention. Luckily, they were all mostly focused on Colette, though Lloyd was almost positive that Kratos, at least, was watching him closely.

The stretch in Asgard and the fight with the Windmaster had served to return the wolf to his usual, boisterous self. Not a thing out of the ordinary had occurred to him—aside from his continued insomnia—and his transformations had remained stable—aside from his continued ability to speak while a wolf. The events in Palmacosta had finally decided to leave him alone, and the whole thing had been very much like a kind of vacation.

Now, though, it was all business again as he struggled to keep his innards from becoming out-nards and pain traveled along every limb like oxygen in his bloodstream.

And, to top it all off, then Sheena appeared, blocking their way out of the damned room that was causing him so much pain in the first place.

"This day has finally come," the girl intoned. "This ancient ruin shall be your graveyard…"

"Oh, Volt, not _you_," Lloyd groaned aloud. He was in no condition to fight right then!

"You're here, too?" Colette seemed to light up with joy, moving forward to greet the other girl.

"S-stay back!" Sheena barked shakily. "Don't move! Don't touch anything!"

"Shadow drag you to the dark abyss," Lloyd grumbled angrily. "Can't you see that nobody here wants to fight you?" He glanced back and considered amending that statement upon seeing his father's face, but decided to leave well enough alone.

"Now that we're friends, why do we have to fight?" Colette added. Everybody present cast the Chosen a strange look for that, then simultaneously dismissed it with an exasperated shake of the head.

"Since when are we…?!" Sheena coughed slightly, choking on her own words with the force of her indignation. "I have no intention of befriending you! Prepare yourself!" And with that, she charged.

Lloyd hung at the back of the fight, his intestines still tangoing in his stomach and his legs threatening to give way at any moment. Once again, Kratos led the brunt of the assault, Colette too reluctant to hurt her 'friend' and Genis afraid of hitting the wrong combatant in such a close-quarters fight.

Eventually, though, all good things must come to an end, and the ninja flung her hand upwards, shouting out an incantation to summon Corrine. The fox appeared midair, falling in an arc towards Colette. There was a surge of mana that made Lloyd's skin prickle painfully all over—a surge far out of proportion with the tiny vulpine. (While unpleasant, he noted, the mana exuded from Corrine still felt like a breath of cool air compared to the awful, slimy mana that Remiel had given off. He quickly shook that thought away.)

In any case, Lloyd was not about to let that mana touch Colette while she was in the middle of undergoing her angel transformation—he fully expected her to keel over with purple lips and labored breathing any moment now—and he was definitely not about to let her eyes be gouged out by an evil little fox. How much more screwed-up could he get if he came in contact with that mana anyway? So he leaped through the air, neatly snatching up the furry little body in his jaws on the way past, like a cat plucking a bird out of mid-flight.

Of course, _that_ meant the source of the mana was that much nearer his scent glands, and he nearly gagged when the taste of algae-soaked water slithered down his throat. He shook his head violently and spat the fox out, thoroughly tempted to retch in earnest. Instead, he planted his feet and loomed over the smaller animal, teeth bared.

"Stay out of this," he warned. "You may be a Summon Spirit, but I can still rip your tails off!" Corrine glanced shiftily at the continuing skirmish, as if weighing the risks and benefits of scuttling between the wolf's legs and sinking his teeth into the nearest ankle he could reach. In the end, he either decided that discretion was the better part of valor or Sheena un-Summoned him, for he disappeared with a final narrow look in Lloyd's direction.

Lloyd turned to see that, like her Summon Spirit, Sheena was clearly considering retreat. She dodged a halfhearted swipe from Colette's chakram and reached into her sash, withdrawing a new card that was either green or red to Lloyd's wolfish vision. Whatever it was, he didn't like the looks of it. At this point, the girl was covered in cuts and scrapes, breathing heavily and looking desperate. Lloyd decided to go in. Maybe the sight of fresh(er) reinforcements would discourage her from continuing to fight.

The wolf bounded to the forefront of the fighting, meaning to take hold of her shin in his teeth and yank her off-balance (not hard enough to break it, of course). He'd gotten to the point where he was within biting distance when Sheena unexpectedly rushed forward as well. She slapped the card across his furred shoulder but, strangely, didn't let go of it and leap clear like she usually did.

"Life Seal!" the brunette barked. The card began to glow, and Lloyd suddenly decided that now would be a wonderful time to go completely limp and flop to the floor like a landed fish. He lay there, panting, as exhausted as if he had been the one jumping around and getting cut up by Kratos instead of Sheena. Oddly enough, the riot in his stomach seemed to have settled; he no longer felt like puking up his own lungs.

Sheena, on the other hand, didn't appear to be faring as well.

"What the…?!" the girl choked, falling back and clutching her stomach. Color had returned to her face—which had been pale and tired not a few minutes ago—but unfortunately part of it was green. The ninja wobbled for a few seconds before collapsing, retching slightly. "What the hell did you do to me?!"

"You…" Lloyd tried to sound angry, but the best he could manage was a breathy huff. "You stole my energy! Serves you right, jerk."

"What happened?" Colette asked, looking between the two of them worriedly.

"That attack was supposed to steal his energy," Sheena gasped. "And it did…"

"But it also stole my sickness," Lloyd loosed a weak chuckle. "Thanks for that."

"You were… sick?" Genis raised one eyebrow.

"Mana makes me sick," Lloyd confirmed, rolling weakly onto his paws but not quite ready to stand up yet. "A little at a time's okay, but when Colette goes through her transformation like that it makes me want to hurl. I feel fine now but…" he laughed again. "I don't envy you at all, Sheena. _I'm_ used to eating weeks-old dead meat. Raw."

"Urk!" the girl clapped her hands to her mouth, visibly swaying at that. When the fit had passed, she looked up, sweaty hair hanging in her face and her cheeks flushed with a combination of sickness and anger. For once, Lloyd thought, the hatred in her face was real.

"You… you planned this, didn't you?!"

"How could I have?" Lloyd snorted. "I didn't know you had a life-stealing attack. Besides, why would I have saved your life at the Geyser if I was just going to trick you and let my friends kill you right here? I don't like killing people, believe it or not."

"I don't!" Sheena shook her head violently. "You're killing my country, my people! I can't let that happen! I won't let you finish this journey!"

"What are you talking about?" Genis demanded. "If Colette regenerates the world, everyone will be saved!"

"Everyone in _this_ world will be!" Sheena shouted. There was a heartbeat of silence after that in which what she'd said seemed to have struck her, and Sheena's eyes flew wide. In an instant, she was on her feet and running, one hand still pressed to her stomach. Raine took a step forward, calling after her.

"Stop! Who are you?!" the teacher shouted. "So you're not alone?!"

"This world…" Lloyd muttered to himself, finally managing to get to his feet. "Does that mean… there are others?"

"That girl…" Kratos murmured. "Is she…?"

"Do you know her?" Lloyd looked up curiously, blinking. His father looked surprised about something, a frown slashing its way across the man's usually impassive face.

"…No. Let's get out of here," he said curtly, turning on his heel to lead the way.

"Here," Raine approached the wolf. "First Aid."

"Aah…" Lloyd let out a sigh as the cool magic enveloped him. His legs stopped trembling. "Thank you, Raine."

"Kratos is right. We should get going," the half-elf nodded to him and continued on her way. Strangely, she, too, appeared to be thinking deeply about something.

"Hey, Svafnir…" Genis said some time later as the group was making their way out of the Mausoleum.

"Yeah?"

"You said mana makes you sick to your stomach. Is that true?"

"Yeah," Lloyd sighed heavily. More proof of his unnaturalness. "When it's just something like that Oracle Stone it just makes me uneasy, and Martel's Temple back in Iselia made me feel like I was starting to catch a cold. But every time Colette transforms, there's this incredible surge of mana that makes me puke up my guts."

"Why is that?" the boy was curious.

"I think… it's because my own mana is so twisted," Lloyd sighed heavily. "I know all living things have mana in them, but it's a different kind for every species. I've got an Exsphere on me that gives me a different mana than my natural kind. That's probably why I can talk. I'm… all wrong. Twisted. Unnatural." He looked away from Genis as he spoke. "Artificial."

"…That's not true," Genis denied.

"I would know," Lloyd shot back tetchily, annoyed that his friend was denying that his _talking dog _was unnatural.

"No, I mean…" Genis sought words, frowning. "I can sense mana, too, because I'm an elf. You… don't feel like that. Your mana isn't a kind I've ever felt before… and there's more of it than there should be… but you don't feel unnatural or artificial to me."

"Thanks, Genis," Lloyd sighed, not letting the words affect him. "I'm glad you think so." _But you don't know the half of it anyway. There's nothing natural about talking wolf-men who don't sleep._

"I… I'm sorry." Lloyd turned at the sudden apology. Colette was looking at him timidly, twisting her hands together.

"What for?"

"You said my transformation causes you pain," she looked down, biting her lip. "I'm sorry."

"You don't mean to do it," Lloyd rolled his eyes. "Don't apologize for things you can't control."

"Of course. I'm sorry. But what Genis said is right," Colette told him with abrupt firmness. "You aren't unnatural. Just different."

"Look, guys, I appreciate the thought," Lloyd laughed slightly, his head reeling with the sudden waves of support flooding him from all sides. "But I really don't think—" While he was speaking, the group emerged from the dark dungeon into the blinding whiteness of the altar room. Lloyd was cut off just as they reached the top of the stairs by Colette, whose eyes suddenly rolled up as she pitched forward. The wolf yelped as the slim girl fell onto him like a bag of wet sand, graceless and heavy. His paws scrambled for purchase on the slick marble, but to no avail. Both girl and dog went tumbling sideways down the staircase.

"Colette! Svafnir!" he heard Genis cry, distantly. The wolf grimaced. It was a bit like spinning around in a circle with your eyes shut, he thought, bouncing off another step. …While a bunch of people whacked you with planks of wood. Oddly, though, about halfway down he stopped bouncing. The rushing chaos around him told him that he was still falling… but no more painful corners dug into his sides, and no more flat slabs cracked him over the head. He wondered if he'd gone completely down the stairs and fallen off the side of the cliff.

After a few moments that seemed to take far longer, the rushing stopped. Stability returned. Lloyd cracked his eyes open tentatively. He was lying face-up, he thought, staring directly into the sun. He blinked. He was squinting, yet he felt absolutely no pain. Strange. And even though he was on his back, there was no ground pressing into his back. He turned his head curiously.

…And whipped to his feet, gasping with shock. He was on top of Colette! He nosed the girl worriedly. She looked just as she always did after a Seal was released: blue-faced and sweating. Several pounding footsteps brought Lloyd's attention to the three figures racing towards them down the stairs, as quickly as they could go without emulating Lloyd and Colette's descent.

"Colette! Is she okay? Are _you_ okay?" Genis demanded wildly.

"It's that angel sickness again," Lloyd told them. "She looks bruised-up, too, but I don't think she broke anything."

"We should get her somewhere safe, nevertheless," Raine instructed. "Don't jostle her too much. When the Angel Toxicosis wears off we can ask her how she feels."

"What about you?" Genis turned worried eyes on his wolf as Kratos gathered the blonde angel into his arms, carefully.

"I'm fine," Lloyd answered without thinking. When his mind caught up with his words, he frowned. It was true, he felt no pain. How was that possible? He'd just fallen down a flight of marble stairs. Surely he had to be bruised, at the very least. He looked at his own sides, but of course saw nothing out of place. His fur covered any bruises he had. He didn't look to be bleeding, anyway, so that was one worry out of the way.

But… he still couldn't feel his paws.

~ ~ ~~ ~ ~

The nausea made a reappearance later that night. It started out as just a tickle, like the leading edges of hunger prickling in his belly. It grew into an unmistakable churning when he gulped down his portion of the dinner Genis prepared. He shifted uncomfortably, waiting for the others to fall asleep. Maybe Sheena hadn't stolen all of it after all.

Lloyd was scared. He was unafraid to admit it. To himself, at least. He had every right to be afraid, he justified. For one thing, they had just learned that the girl following them and trying to kill Colette at every turn was either certifiably insane, or their goal of regeneration was going to kill people. That in itself was unsettling. For another, his mana sickness was so terrible this time that even forcing some onto Sheena only gave him a temporary reprieve. And, finally and most horrifyingly, he was completely numb from nose to tail. He couldn't feel the warmth of the fire on his muzzle, couldn't tell if it was a chilly evening or a tepid one, couldn't even tell that Genis had fallen asleep against his side until he looked down and saw it. He looked across the campfire at the still form of Colette. Had she gone numb as well? Was this like the sleeplessness that plagued them both ever since she'd released the first Seal?

…Wait a minute…

Lloyd jolted upright, bile rising in his throat. Luckily for him, Genis didn't wake upon being thrown to the ground, merely grumbled and rolled over. Raine was asleep as well, and Kratos had left, volunteering to wash their dinner dishes in a nearby stream before taking up his position as night-watch. Nobody saw at the wolf bolted into the woods, panic in his eyes.

It was only when he'd run practically all the way back to Asgard that Lloyd stopped. He would have run further, but his stomach had decided that it was not going to put up with him a moment longer. His body rebelled against him, and Lloyd threw up onto the forest floor.

He hacked and gagged for a good long while, grateful that the numbness afflicting him kept his tongue from tasting his dinner for a second time. As it was, it was a surreal experience to throw up while unable to feel his muscles clenching up as he knew they had to be.

When he'd finished, Lloyd retreated several yards, disgusted. He got a safe distance away before touching his nose to his Exsphere, reverting back to human shape in a spray of luminescence. The boy sat down on a nearby rock, cradling his head in his hands.

He still couldn't feel. His hair should have been tickling his wrists where it fell around his temples. He could _see _it brushing his wrists. And yet, it was as if his entire body had gone to sleep while his mind remained yet unable to follow it. He stomped his foot as hard as he could against the ground. Nothing. He bit the side of his wrist above his glove, frantic now as he watched a trickle of blood slide down his arm. And still he felt _nothing_.

"What is happening to me…?" he breathed, unable to tear his eyes away from the crimson trail over his tan skin. He leaned forward and licked it away. There was no coppery taste. He wiped his arm with his fingers. No slickness of saliva met his questing digits, and no warm tickle traveled over his arm. He scrubbed his face with his hands, not even noticing the roughness of his gloves grating against his cheeks, just as he was oblivious to the tears they soaked up.

And then, just as he began to work up a fine panic, there was something. A feeling. Sharp pain digging into his back. The nausea returned once more, with a vengeance this time. Pain and sickness surged together, nearly sending Lloyd pitching off his rock. One arm shot down over his shoulder, while the other curled around up his spine, fingers scrabbling as if to claw out the pain that lurked beneath his skin.

Lloyd really did fall off his rock this time, as the pain-nausea battered him with an even stronger wave. He gasped for breath on his hands and knees, sure that there were bits of gravel digging into them that should have hurt. And yet all he could feel was the horrible feeling in his back.

When the Desian had cut him on Magnius's order, the cut had healed without a scar, thanks to Raine's magic. Even if it hadn't, scars didn't stick to Lloyd. When he changed into a wolf, he didn't carry over the scars from his human body, and when he became human again the scars were gone. The same thing worked in reverse. It was a good thing, too, or else he might have been one big, walking piece of scar tissue. One did not survive nearly two decades in the wilderness unscathed.

And yet, Lloyd wondered if that rule had somehow disappeared with his tactile sense. It felt as if that Desian's sword were still lodged in his spine, slicing him open once more. Or maybe like that bear he'd fought once, its claws carving four parallel furrows into his skin. The pain grew ever further, and Lloyd hoped to whatever spirit was listening that he hadn't bitten his tongue off without noticing, or his lip. There was a roaring in his ears, and his vision grew blurry. Was he dying? He realized sadly that he probably was. He blinked a little, seeing that somehow he was facedown in the dirt. He could have sworn he was on his knees a moment ago…

And now the world was blurring around him. Hands appeared to be turning him over, and he could see faces hovering over him now. He didn't like that. He wanted his last view to be of the stars, but these people were blocking his view. Their faces were unfamiliar, twisted in hatred and shouting obscenities at him.

_Palmacostans_, he thought with a jolt of shock and fear. _They've found me. They know what I am._ Because of course he was a wolf. He never spent the night in the wilderness as a human.

The Palmacostans threw him back to the ground, but it didn't hurt. He whined and wagged his tail, but none of them noticed or cared. They were bringing out a knife. They were holding him down. He was howling, howling in agony. They were skinning him alive!

"Take it off! Take it off!" they were screaming. "There's a boy inside! Get him out!"

Of course, Lloyd thought groggily. They were skinning away the monster to get to the human inside. That made sense. It felt like the boy inside him was pushing out against his back, too, eager to escape. It hurt. It hurt like nothing he'd ever felt.

He wanted it to stop.

The next thing Lloyd knew, his eyes were blinking open to an unfamiliar ceiling above him. He turned his head, hearing somebody nearby gasp.

He was in a house, obviously. What was strange was that it seemed familiar to him, though he couldn't place it. He was lying in the bed, blankets piled high on top of him. There was a woman seated on a chair by his bedside, looking just as oddly familiar as the room. She was the one who had gasped. Lloyd eyed her, his face scrunched up. His back still burnt like he really was being skinned alive, though he now knew that he must have passed out and been hallucinating. Maybe he still was…

"Oh my, you're awake," the woman stammered. "I didn't expect you to… Never mind. You're safe here, boy. What happened? Can you speak?"

"Yes," Lloyd said. It was easy to speak, he found, when you couldn't tell whether or not your throat was sore. His voice came out raspy, though, so he figured that speaking too much was probably unhealthy for him even if it wasn't painful.

"That's a relief. My name is Aisha," the woman smiled. Lloyd's breath caught in shock. That was the woman they'd helped out in Asgard… No wonder she and her house had looked so familiar. But how had he gotten here? The Balacruf Mausoleum was on an island, and he definitely hadn't crossed any bridges.

"How…?" he began. He was cut off by a fit of weak coughs, but Aisha seemed to understand.

"You don't remember?" the woman frowned. "You were brought here the day before yesterday by a girl a little older than you look. She said she found you near the Balacruf Mausoleum. Can you tell me what's wrong? Your fever hasn't gone down in two days and you moan in pain whenever someone touches you, even though you aren't injured."

"…I don't know," he rasped. "My… back… Something's… wrong with…" Aisha bit her lip for a few moments before seeming to steel herself, leaning forward.

"This might hurt," she warned. Then, giving Lloyd no time to react, she seized his shoulders and flipped him over onto his stomach. The pain flared sickeningly, and Lloyd would have screamed had he been able to take a breath through the pillow that was now covering his face, smothering him. Gentle hands turned his head to the side, freeing his nose and mouth to gulp in deep, calming breaths of air.

"What was that for?!" he demanded all at once, heedless of the strain on his throat.

"If your back's in pain, you shouldn't be laying on it," the woman said adamantly. Lloyd sighed. It was a reasonable assumption, he guessed, under normal circumstances. As it was, though, he couldn't feel the bed beneath him on his back or front, so it made no difference whatsoever to his level of pain.

Aisha moved closer, standing, to fiddle around with something on his back. He assumed that she was lifting his shirt (he noticed, suddenly and with a jolt of panic, that his gloves and boots had both been removed).

"There's nothing visibly wrong…" she mused. "Could something have happened to your spine?"

"No," Lloyd denied. "Feels like…shoulder blades…"

"Does this hurt?" Lloyd assumed, by her tone, that she was poking the aforementioned parts. Well, by her tone and by the upsurge of pain that temporarily robbed Lloyd of what little voice he possessed.

"…Yes…"

"Hmm," the woman made a thoughtful sound. The pain seemed to run loop-the-loops over his shoulders, alternately growing and subsiding as if Aisha were running her hands over them, poking and prodding. "Now that you mention it, there's something like a… lump… under your skin. Two of them…"

Lloyd craned, but couldn't look over his shoulder. It might have been for the best, since his fever-bright eyes would probably have taken any authority he could muster out of his next statement.

He remembered his hallucination. Something good wrapped up in something evil. Well, he didn't know what was under his skin, or how good it might be. All he knew was that there was only one way to get to them.

"Cut them out."


	13. Angelic

**Kitty: Guess what? I just got a flame on my other story from a yaoi-hater! 8D Now, I respect that there are a lot of people that don't agree with same-sex relationships. That being said... that thing was hilarious. XD No, seriously. It told me that yaoi would corrupt my soul into an empty husk, that everyone is born with a magical 'straightness gene', and finished it all off by telling me that yuri is NOT amoral and unnatural like yaoi is because eighty percent of girls are born bi anyway. ...XD You know, by his own rules, technically I'm exepmt from that flame... being a girl and all...**

**Zelos: ...The story, Kitty?**

**Kitty: Oh, right! This one continues on from the creepiness of last chapter, only a little more so. (Remember the last sentence? Yeah.) In other news, quote research for this chapter was a joke. I have about ten songs on my iPod with 'angel' blatantly in the title, at least fifteen more with references to flying or wings or angels in the lyrics, and there are a million more out there not on my iPod. This one fit best, though. ^^**

**Genis: YearOfTheKitty does not own Tales of Symphonia. Jeez, do I have to do everythign around here?**

**Kitty: Enjoy!**

~ ~ ~~ ~ ~

**Chapter Thirteen**

**Angelic**

"_Angels show up in the strangest of places."_

—_Skillet, 'Looking For Angels'_

Of course Aisha didn't listen to him. It wasn't until the end of that day when her brother and his friend both came to check on them that he was able to convince her. Linar recalled having read something about lumps of dead skin that sometimes formed on or within people, and that the only way to stop them from spreading was to cut them off. Harley agreed, and together the three males were able to convince the woman. Or it may have been the fact that Lloyd's voice eventually gave out entirely, leaving him mouthing pleadingly at her, uttering hoarse, incomprehensible croaks.

Aisha herself couldn't do it, even as she tearfully assented. It was Harley who approached with the knife while Linar hovered palely in the background and Aisha fled the house altogether. Lloyd kept the silver blade in view for as long as he could, less worried than he otherwise might have been. How much worse could the pain get? Besides, it seemed like his skin was the part that had given up feeling, and that was the part they'd be cutting… right?

Lloyd soon learned exactly how much worse the pain could get. A point of hot fire sunk into his shoulder, and he let loose a half-voiceless scream of agony.

"Not so deep!" Linar shouted, a little panicked. "We can always cut deeper, but you can't take it back if you go too deeply the first time!" The hot fire withdrew completely, and Lloyd sighed weakly. He felt the knife, but it was more of a… tickle. As if whatever was under his skin could feel it as it passed. The tickle made two long, straight lines from the top of his shoulder blades down to the small of his back under Lloyd's mouthed directions, translated by Linar to Harley. After the second cut was made, the half-elf drew back slightly, a little pale himself by this point.

"They… they aren't bleeding," he said in astonishment. "Whatever's under the skin… it's white, and it's not dead tissue."

'Widen the cuts,' Lloyd mouthed. Linar conveyed this to Harley, who hesitated before obeying. When he was finished, he jumped backwards, white as a sheet.

"They… they _moved_!" he gasped. "I don't know what those things are, but they're _alive!_"

Lloyd frowned. Alive? Were there creatures inside him? He probably would have noticed them going in, wouldn't he? On the other hand, the only other option was…

A suspicion formed in Lloyd's mind. He frowned harder and concentrated on the fading pain in his back. He pushed outwards with all his thoughts.

It didn't take all his thoughts, merely one of them. Lloyd felt a tender tingling, followed by a sudden awkward weight on two small points on his shoulder blades, as if someone on stilts were standing on his back. The pain was quickly receding, leaving Lloyd as numb as before. Harley and Linar, on the other hand, had hunched into a corner, gaping wildly at a point just above Lloyd. The boy decided to see what it was.

Calmly and without panicking, he used his arms to push himself upright and swing his legs over the lip of the bed. He sat up and directed a thought at the things that were now pulling down on his shoulder blades, trying to bring them around for him to see. The things curled, remaining attached to his shoulders. White feathers filled Lloyd's vision. Traces of blood stained the feathers, blood and other liquids from the inside of Lloyd's body.

Wings.

_Huh._

Lloyd passed out cleanly onto Aisha's bed.

~ ~ ~~ ~ ~

When Lloyd awoke, he was once again facedown on Aisha's bed, though this time there was no one beside him. He sat up groggily, rubbing his eyes. So he could still pass out, huh? That was slightly reassuring. At least his body got _some _form of rest.

Lloyd remembered clearly every detail of the past few however-long-he'd-been-asleeps, unlike the characters of some stories he'd heard. He knew exactly where he was and exactly why he'd passed out.

He curled those reasons around his shoulders once more, examining them.

They were still wings, to his slight awe and overwhelming fear. The blood had been mostly washed off now, leaving them pure white. Tentative fingers reached to stroke them, and Lloyd wished he could tell if they were as soft as they looked. Naturally, instinctively, his fingers ran between and under the feathers, straightening and cleaning them of the remaining dried fluids.

He was preening, he distantly realized. Literally, if not metaphorically. Metaphorically, he was running around in circles screaming like a six-year-old girl with a spider in her hair.

_How was this possible?!_

Sure, he had had suspicions when he'd realized that his symptoms of mana-overdose were identical to those of Colette's angel transformation, but he hadn't consciously made the connection. After all, _he_ wasn't supposed to become an angel; _he_ was a full-blooded human with no external influences that would make him such.

Except… he didn't really know either of those things for certain. He'd never known his parents, so for all he knew they might actually have been angels. That might explain why his wings were physical and Colette's weren't. And his mother's Exsphere was, after all, called the Angelus Project…

The door opened suddenly, interrupting Lloyd's preening. He moved his wings aside to clear his view of whoever had just come in.

Somehow, he couldn't muster any surprise to see Sheena walking in through the door.

"_You were brought here the day before yesterday by a girl a little older than you look."_

"You're awake?" Sheena stopped dead in her tracks, eyes wide.

"Yeah," Lloyd was relieved to find that his throat was no longer rebelling against him. It sounded a little rusty still, but it was the rustiness that came from having just woken up. "How long have I been out this time?"

"Just a day," Sheena continued on her way to seat herself in Aisha's vacant chair. "Aisha's out buying food for lunch. How are you feeling?"

"Much better," Lloyd answered truthfully. "You were the one that found me, weren't you? Thank you. Without you I might have died."

"I doubt it," the girl said, her tone sardonic even while her face caught fire. "Keeping those… those under your skin probably wouldn't be fatal, just really, really painful. You're welcome anyway. My name is Sheena Fujibayashi."

"Lloyd Nix Svafnir Aurion," Lloyd replied. "You can call me any one of the first three."

"Wow," Sheena blinked. "That's a lot of names."

"I was only born with two," Lloyd shrugged. "The others just tacked themselves on somehow." This made Sheena giggle.

"Technically, I've got three, but my third one's a secret," she winked.

"What a coincidence," Lloyd grinned. "Since you're clearly adept at keeping secrets, do you think you can keep another?"

"You don't want me to tell anyone about the wings," Sheena guessed.

"Nah. Cry it from the rooftops for all I care. I'm already Public Enemy Number One. This might even lessen that a little," Lloyd glanced back at his wings. "All that I ask is that you not tell certain people."

"Who?" Sheena asked. "If I don't know them, it might be difficult…"

"You know them. A tall, redheaded mercenary who wears purple, a white-haired half-elf boy and his older sister, both of whom are mages, and the Chosen of Regeneration," Lloyd reeled off, watching honey-brown eyes grow wider with each description. They narrowed in suspicion after a moment.

"You know them? I've never seen you before, and I…" she stopped suddenly.

"…'have been following them', yes, I know," Lloyd nodded. "So have I. Since you're not exactly on speaking terms with them it might seem a little silly, but please, if you do ever talk to them, don't mention you ever saw me and especially don't mention the wings."

"I can understand the wings," Sheena crossed her arms. "But denying I ever saw you?" Then, recalling an earlier statement of Lloyd's, "You aren't some kind of criminal, are you? Are you on the run?" Her hand began to inch towards her sash.

"No, no," he shook his head impatiently. "It's the Desians that want me. Because of these," he added, gesturing to his chest and wrist and the jewels adorning them. "I don't want them to know because I'm supposed to be waiting in Palmacosta until the end of the journey, not following them all over the countryside. They might kill me on suspicion of being in cahoots with you if they find out. I'm not _that _close of a friend."

"Hey," Sheena frowned. "That gem on your wrist…"

"So you finally noticed?" Lloyd glanced down. "I thought you'd recognized it immediately, and that was why you saved me. I guess not. Think for a minute, I'm sure it'll come to you."

"Lloyd Nix _Svafnir_ Aurion?" the girl looked up, blatant shock and disbelief across her face. "You…! But how…?"

"How do you think?" Lloyd was startled to feel his wings ruffle unconsciously, much in the same way someone might shift uncomfortably. It was an odd sensation. "This Exsphere," he held up his hand, "lets me turn into a wolf at will. This one," he gestured to his chest, "is apparently turning me into an angel."

"You've equipped two Exspheres?" the ninja gaped. "That's… really unsafe."

"Tell me about it," Lloyd rolled his eyes.

"No, you tell me about it," Sheena ordered, settling back in her chair determinedly. "I'm not moving—and neither are you—until you've told me _exactly_ what's going on around here."

"If you insist," Lloyd laughed shakily, rubbing the back of his head. Now would be a good time to use his honed skills as a liar, he thought. A _very _good time.

Except… what good would it do? Any story he came up with would probably only put him in even hotter water than her was already in. It would be such a relief to finally tell someone… and maybe Sheena would know something he didn't.

"I grew up on my own," Lloyd was speaking almost before he'd made a conscious decision to. "I've had this Exsphere for as long as I can remember, and I've been using it to turn into a wolf for about that long, too. It's how I survived so long. Anyway, back then I didn't know who I was, so my foster-family—I lived part-time in Palmacosta—called me Svafnir. That's where that comes from. I called myself Nix most of the time when I wasn't with them.

"Anyway, it was a pretty decent life for a freak on the run until this year. I made a stop in a backwater town called Iselia," he sighed heavily. "And, somehow, found myself making friends with the Chosen's best friend. You might remember him—the white-haired elf mage."

"I remember," Sheena nodded.

"I decided to help him out; to protect him by becoming a wolf. Before that, though, a dwarf in Iselia told me he'd met my mother just before she died and that my real name was Lloyd. He also told me the blue Exsphere I'd sold for money was my mom's keepsake. Then, later, in Triet, I found out that my dad was still alive… and the red-haired mercenary protecting the Chosen. I'd be a little worried if you didn't remember _him_."

"The swordsman?" Sheena blinked. "I didn't peg him as the fatherly type."

"That may be true," Lloyd shrugged. "He's still my dad."

"Good point. Go on."

"Well, I bought back my mom's Exsphere," Lloyd sighed heavily. "I accidentally equipped it, too. When we released the Fire Seal in Triet, there was a surge of the same kind of mana that it gives off, which I guess overpowered my other Exsphere's influence enough that I stopped sleeping, just like the Chosen. That was my first clue, but I didn't get it then.

"Later, in Palmacosta, my blue Exsphere was stolen by the Desians. They called it the Angelus Project. While it was gone, my white Exsphere's power surged, since it didn't have to fight the other Exsphere's influence anymore, and I nearly forgot that I was human… ish. Anyway, I got the blue one back and the white Exsphere lost enough of its power that I could talk even when I was a wolf. I missed the releasing of the Water Seal because I was distracting you. Later, at the Wind Seal, I lost my ability to feel as well as… these," he rustled his wings again, this time on purpose.

"The others just think I'm a wolf whose Exsphere allows me to talk," he said. "They also think that their wolf—Svafnir—is mine—by which I mean the human Lloyd Nix. Kratos thinks the same thing, and they all believe that the human me, Lloyd Nix, is waiting in Palmacosta until the end of the journey. Oh, and nobody else knows the human me is related to Kratos, either," Lloyd finished. "I think that's about it."

"Okay…" Sheena began to rub her temples, squeezing her eyes shut. "Man, that's a lot to take in…"

"I know," Lloyd sympathized. "I'm not entirely comfortable with it all myself yet."

"Okay," Sheena repeated. "Okay. I think I've got it. So those two Exspheres of yours are both fighting to turn you into something?"

"Yep."

"So why don't you just take that one off?" Sheena pointed to the Angelus Project on Lloyd's collarbone. The boy looked down and blinked a few times, blankly.

"I… never thought about that," he admitted. Then, shaking his head, "No, I can't do it anyway. If I do, I'll just forget I'm human again. Not to mention…" he glanced over his shoulder at snowy white feathers. "Not to mention what might happen to _those_. Even if they just disappeared, what would happen if I put it on again later? I never want to go through that pain again."

"That makes sense," Sheena conceded. She sat up straight, coming to a decision. "I swear on my honor as a warrior of Mizuho, I'll help you keep your secret."

"Thank you," Lloyd smiled gratefully. "What's with the honor thing, though? A simple 'I won't tell' is good enough for me."

"Maybe it hasn't sunk in yet," Sheena shook her head slowly. "Lloyd, you're an _angel_ now. Even if you're an artificial one… well, technically so is the Chosen. There are people out there—there's whole _worlds_ out there—that _worship_ your kind."

"I just feel like some guy with wings…" Lloyd chuckled nervously, scratching his cheek and rustling his wings uncomfortably. In truth, he didn't even feel like that. He still just felt like some guy.

"First things first," Sheena stood abruptly. "I think your first angelic duty should be to swear this town to secrecy. By now Harley's probably told everyone about you."

"B-but…!" Lloyd protested. "I don't know anything about being an angel! I can't just order people around!"

"You can," the ninja seized his arm and hauled him upright. "Just spread your wings out to the sides and tell them Cruxis sent you to test Asgard's faith, and that they can't tell anyone else about you or risk Cruxis's wrath. It'll be easy; no one will dare argue with an angel like you!"

"For someone assuring me of my own divinity," Lloyd said, wincing as the girl dragged him out of Aisha's home and into the bright sunlight, "you're sure not acting very reverent."

"Would you like me to start calling you Lord Lloyd?"

"Ugh, please don't!" Lloyd grimaced. "That sounds _awful_." The brunette giggled and shoved him onto the stairs leading up to the stone dais. Lloyd hurried ahead of her, his wings folded tight to his back so that they didn't knock into anything or throw him off-balance. His legs burned from being made to deal with so many stairs after being bedridden for three days. Lloyd was relieved when they finally got to the top and he could seat himself on the edge of the dais.

"Okay, you stay here," Sheena instructed. "I'll get the villagers. Practice your speech or something." And with that, the girl was gone.

Lloyd stared blankly after her. When it became apparent that she really was going to make him impersonate a divine being in front of an audience of gullible villagers, he groaned loudly and fell backwards onto the stone. His wings twitched themselves out to either side of him so that he was lying literally spread-eagled.

The sky above him was a grayish-white color dotted with darker smudges of charcoal. The sun was still bright through it, lighting the clouds with an almost painful brilliance. The wind was picking up a little, judging by the way his clothes and feathers all appeared to be tilted in one direction, though Lloyd, of course, couldn't feel it himself.

He lifted one hand above his face, silhouetting it against the bright white sky. Slices of brilliance shone between fingers of shadow, creating flecks of rainbows on the surface of the Exsphere embedded in the back of his hand. This one hadn't given him the wings, he knew. That was the one on his chest. But his chest was an awkward place for pensive contemplation, and, as he had explained to Sheena, he didn't want to take it off. So that left his hand.

The one on his hand, though, wasn't exactly innocent in all of this, either. Lloyd scowled. What was wrong with him? All this time, he'd been using a jewel to turn into an animal, and he had never once wondered where the damn thing had come from, or why it had that power in the first place.

And now that he was thinking of such things… if his blue Exsphere had the power to turn him into an angel… did that make it a Cruxis Crystal? An artificial one? Colette said she had been born with hers, implying that it was somehow organic.

Lloyd sat up suddenly, still staring intently at the jewel in his hand. Had _he _been born with _this_? Certainly, he'd had it just as long as the blue one. For all he knew, he could have been born with it. But Dirk had said his mother, Anna, had asked after the blue Exsphere, not the white one. If he'd been born with it, wouldn't his own mother have known? Of course she would have. So… had he come across it as a child, then, when he was too little to remember it now that he was… however old he was? That one seemed more likely…

"Hey, Lloyd!"

The newly-made angel looked up as Sheena scurried back up the stairs, looking rushed.

"Quick, stand on the edge of the dais there and look commanding! The villagers are coming!" the girl ordered. Lloyd obediently climbed to his feet and half-spread his wings, folding his arms over his chest and trying _not_ to shoot Sheena doubtful looks every few seconds. He still had absolutely no faith in this plan. Sure, he had wings, but wings an angel did not make. Or… not in his mind, anyway.

The denizens of Asgard appeared to have a different view of it, as Lloyd soon found out. Sheena appeared to have somehow fetched the entire population of the town, for the space in front of the dais was soon completely packed, while still more people crowded on the stairs almost to the bottom of the hill. This may have been due to the good five yards of space into which no Asgardian dared tread between the front row and Lloyd. They huddled together fearfully, staring in awe at his wings and whispering frantically amongst themselves.

Lloyd blinked. He looked down at himself. His clothes were absolutely ragged, torn and worn and stained until it wasn't entirely clear what color they had been originally. His hair was a thicket of burrs and nearly two decades of disregarded bed-head. Hell, there was _dirt_ under his _fingernails_. Anything less like an angel Lloyd couldn't imagine, and yet the villagers looked about ready to drop to their collective knees begging for mercy.

"Well?" Sheena murmured from where she stood in front of the dais on Lloyd's left side, her head about on a level with his toes. "Talk to them. They came to listen."

"And _thank_ you very much for that," Lloyd muttered back sarcastically. There was a silence as instant and total as if Lloyd had just clapped his hands over his ears. He looked up to see the whole of Asgard staring at him, their lips clamped shut.

Listening to him.

Well, damn it.

"Um…" Lloyd stalled for a moment. "Thank you all for coming…" He cast wildly about in his head for what he was supposed to say. Tell them it was all a test, Sheena had said. Swear them to secrecy. Lloyd took a deep breath.

"I am an angel of Cruxis," he told them all, recalling the first time he'd seen the angel Remiel. Distantly, he wondered if the real angels would smite him for impersonating them later. "I have come to test this town's faith." And that was as far as his internal speech-writer had gotten. He was a very good liar, but liars, as a general rule, were an unimaginative lot. That was what made their lies so believable. He glanced around for inspiration, finally settling on the top of Sheena's head.

"My, um…" he paused, searching for a term, "…disciple!" he produced triumphantly. "My disciple and I will be departing shortly and, erm…" he ran out of steam again. What was he doing again? Oh, right, swearing them to secrecy.

"You must not tell anyone we were here," he finished lamely. "Or… or risk Cruxis's wrath." There. He'd done it. The villagers stared at him, not budging. Lloyd began to sweat. What was he supposed to do to get rid of them?!

"You heard him!" Sheena unexpectedly barked. "Make way for Martel's servant!" She strode forward, the villagers parting before her like minnows before a shark. Lloyd hopped off the dais in an extremely undignified manner before scampering after her.

The villagers' awe, he realized, was directly proportional to how far away he was standing. Now that he was in amongst them, the levels of adulation were almost unbearable. He thought he saw a few women _crying_. He saw more than a few hands reach out as if meaning to touch his sleeve or his wing before being snatched back. Not that he would have felt it even if they had touched him…

Just when he and Sheena had almost emerged from the crowds at the base of the hill, Lloyd's foot hit something. He wouldn't even have noticed if not for the small wail he heard coming from somewhere by his boots, causing him to look down. What he saw made him jump backwards in shock.

A small child, he saw, had tripped or fallen right in front of him. And he… he had stepped right on that poor child's hand! What Lloyd did next was as instinctive as scratching an itch.

The boy dropped to his knees next to the child—a young girl, no more than two or three years old—and gently held her hand between his own.

"I'm sorry," he apologized, trying to soothe her. The girl sniffed twice, her eyes big and watery. "I'm sorry! Please don't cry! Ah…" Lloyd cast around for something to make the child stop crying. "Here!" He reached back and seized one of the smaller feathers near the top of his wing, one he knew was unnecessary for flight, plucking it swiftly and holding it out to the girl.

"Here, see? You can have it. Isn't it a pretty feather?" he tickled the end of the girl's nose with it, and her tears dissolved into little giggles of delight, much to Lloyd's relief. Small hands reached out eagerly, and Lloyd's fingers gently closed around hers, folding them around the little white quill.

"Now, Liza," Lloyd glanced up at the shaky voice, finding the girl's mother standing right beside him, "what do you say to the angel?"

"Thank you," Liza whispered shyly, rising to her feet and backing up to cling to her mother's skirt, one pudgy hand still clutching the feather. Lloyd smiled at her and rose to his feet, finally noticing the weight of the stares on his back. He glanced around, surprised to find almost every Asgardian regarding the child with almost as much awe as they gave to him.

"You're welcome," Lloyd told her firmly, turning and continuing along the path Sheena had cleared ahead of him. He was relieved when they were clear of the crowd, which had burst into excited chatter the moment he was around the corner. He could hear them.

"Sweet disciple of everlasting ice," Lloyd pronounced, slumping back against the side of Aisha's house. "I am never letting you talk me into anything ever again. Ever."

"Disciple?" Sheena demanded. Lloyd hesitated for a moment, thinking she was referring to his expletive. "When exactly did I become your _disciple_?"

"Oh," Lloyd realized what she was talking about a second later. "That. I was trying to find a way to explain why some random girl is rubbing shoulders with an 'angel of Cruxis'. It's not my fault! You put me on the spot!" He accused.

"I gave you a good half-hour to come up with a speech!" Sheena argued. "What were you doing all that time, preening?"

"Whatever," Lloyd gave up arguing. "All I want to know is what you're going to do next and whether or not I have to come with you."

"Why would you come with me?" Sheena met his gaze, confused. "Technically, we're still enemies, you know."

"I know," Lloyd slumped. He'd actually almost forgotten… "But you helped me, twice now, and I want to help you…"

"You already saved me once at Thoda Geyser," Sheena reminded him. "Besides, have you forgotten what you told me? The whole reason you're in this mess now is that you wanted to help that mage friend of yours."

"I know," Lloyd repeated. "The other thing is… I don't know where my friends are. I don't know where they planned to go next, and even if I did, I have no way of knowing when they'll get there. My safest bet for tracking them down is sticking with you, so that's what I'll do."

"Fine," Sheena gave in, surprisingly. Then, further surprising Lloyd, "I kinda like you. You're a good person, despite the whole thieving liar thing. I don't want to have to kill you."

"With all the people out for my blood, that's the highest compliment you can give me," Lloyd snorted in amusement. "Thanks. You're a good person, too."

"Okay," Sheena clapped her hands. "And now, I think it's time to move on to your second angelic duty."

"What's that?" Lloyd groaned. He was starting to hate Sheena's plans. A crooked smile spread across the assassin's face as she spoke.

"Why, learning how to fly, of course."


	14. Just Plain Unlucky

**Kitty: Yet another pathetically easy chapter quote… Other than that, not much to say about this one. Except that, obviously, I can't fly, so give me the benefit of the doubt on the flying lesson, okay? I just feel that in almost every story about someone with wings, the winged character always has WAY too easy a time learning how to fly, when, to me, it seems that we take many tries to learn how to walk—and walking is infinitely easier than flying.**

**Zelos: YearOfTheKitty does not own Tales of Symphonia, NAMCO does that.**

**Kitty: Enjoy!**

~ ~ ~~ ~ ~

**Chapter Fourteen**

**Just Plain Unlucky**

"_Hold it together, birds of a feather_

_Nothing but lies and crooked wings."_

—_Breaking Benjamin, 'Evil Angel'_

Lloyd's foot came down hard on the rock surface, propelling his body forward as his other foot swung forward. But this foot didn't come down on anything as Lloyd's body shot over the edge of the cliff, broad white wings snapping out to either side with a sound like sails unfurling. Below him, Lloyd could see the trees spread out at the foot of the cliff, like a great green mattress stretched out to catch him should he fall.

But Lloyd wasn't falling. Wind rushed up beneath his wings as thickly as if he were falling through water, holding him aloft. For a few seconds he hung suspended above the world, feeling the strain against his shoulders and chest and back muscles, reveling in the air that stretched out infinitely to either side of him. Lloyd flapped his wings once, meaning to gain altitude so that he could see even more of the world beneath him.

All at once, the wind was no more solid to his wings as it was to his body. Lloyd screeched once as he tipped forward, scrabbling vainly at the air for something to hold onto to slow his fall.

"Spread your wings!" he could hear Sheena shouting from the clifftop he'd taken off from, a few yards back now. Lloyd obeyed the command, extending wings he'd half-folded instinctively when he'd begun to fall. The wings caught what his hands could not, and his descent came to an abrupt halt. Lloyd winced, his shoulders and back screaming. It was much like catching the edge of the cliff with his arm as he fell. It hurt just as much.

"Tip your wing!" he heard Sheena instructing. "Tip and turn!"

"I know!" Lloyd bellowed back. He could hear her just fine over the wind, but he knew her human ears would have a difficult time hearing him. The boy cautiously dipped his right wing, sending himself into a swooping, dipping, wobbling spin to the right. He came around so that he was facing the cliff once more—though the word 'cliff' was a slightly misleading term for the shelf of rock at the foot of the mountain they were practicing on.

Unfortunately, Lloyd had lost air with that turn, and was now a good ten yards beneath the shelf.

…And heading full speed for the cliff's side.

Lloyd barely had time to flare his wings—an instinctive motion that used his wings as drag chutes to slow his momentum—and swing his legs down before he hit the rock chest-first. The next few seconds were a breathless, panicking scramble of six limbs against sheer rock, searching for any hand- or foot- (or even wing-) hold. Lloyd slid down a good four feet before he finally managed to wedge one boot into a crevice and seize a protruding knob with the opposite hand. Lloyd hung there for another few minutes, panting and reassuring himself that he was alright.

"Lloyd?" Sheena appeared, peering over the edge down at him. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine!" he hollered back. "Just give me a minute to climb up!" Sheena nodded and disappeared, leaving Lloyd to gather his strength and begin the arduous ascent upwards.

Now _this_ was a satisfying workout, Lloyd thought. Had he had the capacity to, he knew that he would be sweating buckets. His muscles were straining, but not too much. And every inch he gained gave him a sense of triumph for having gained it.

Flying was nothing like Lloyd had imagined. The strain didn't come from aching muscles—quite the contrary; Lloyd's wings felt as if they could fly forever and never tire out. He supposed it made sense. After all, birds flew practically everywhere they went. It wouldn't do for them to get tired every half-mile or so.

Instead, the strain of flying came from subtler mistakes. While Lloyd seemed to have acquired a whole new set of instincts to guide him, they were only _instincts_. They didn't work when he was thinking about them. And how did you _not_ think about it when you were this high up with nothing to hold you there except your own body? Not to mention the fact that there were so many thing to calculate—instinct only took you so far. He had to factor in the direction and speed of the wind, his own altitude, the exact position and angles of his wings, the speed and power of his strokes… It was far too much for him to take in all at once, especially when he was trying _not_ to think about it.

Lloyd grunted, reaching up and finding the edge of the cliff at his fingertips. His other hand reached up as well to be caught by Sheena, who assisted in hauling the new angel over the lip. He lay on his back, panting, for a few more seconds before sitting up gingerly.

"You're forgetting again," Sheena said severely. "I keep telling you: it's not enough to just move your wings up and down, you've got to _row_ with them. It's all about _rotation_, _back and forth_ as well as up and down. Move your wings in quick…"

"…circles. I know," Lloyd sighed. "This is so much harder than I thought it would be. Maybe we should have picked a smaller cliff."

"You'll never learn if you're not motivated to stay up there," Sheena maintained. "You'd just give up more quickly because the fall wouldn't kill you. This way, your survival instinct kicks in if you screw up too badly. Besides, the trees would slow your fall. You'd probably only break one or two bones if you fell."

"…You know, I _really _want to meet your teacher someday," Lloyd eyed the girl askance. "I'll bet he's a _delightful_ person. Also, you had a screwed-up childhood."

"Get back on that cliff," Sheena said. The phrase had quickly become her traditional mantra after Lloyd's many failures to remain airborne. This time, however, her smile seemed more strained than usual, her tone tighter. Lloyd obediently stood (wiping his forehead out of habit, despite the lack of sweat) and took a running start at the edge. He didn't want to disappoint the closest thing he'd ever had to a mentor-figure.

As his wings snapped out once more, though, he caught Sheena's murmur beneath the noise, clearly directed at herself rather than him.

"You don't know the half of it."

~ ~ ~~ ~ ~

Lloyd spent two days (the one of the speech and the entirety of the one after it) practicing flying. He still had problems with ascension, though his descent was—as Sheena put it—a screaming, flailing masterpiece. All that really mattered to Lloyd was that he could fly in a relatively straight line, which was all that he needed at that moment. For the next day, he and Sheena departed for Luin.

When questioned, Sheena admitted that she had friends in Luin that she wanted to check up on. There was trouble brewing, she said, but refused to elaborate any further. Lloyd was anxious to meet up with his father, Genis, and the other two as soon as possible, but conceded that it was quite likely for them to show up in Luin soon, since they hadn't yet explored the northern part of the main continent.

Sheena traveled on foot cross-country while Lloyd circled around overhead, mastering the art of turning correctly. Unlike what he had seen Remiel do, Lloyd found himself unable to hover in one place while flapping his wings. He had to remain in constant motion to stay aloft, just like regular birds. Lloyd wasn't sure whether to be relieved or irked about that.

In any case, he soon became bored with watching a small purple Sheena-dot crawl its way across the vast map that was Sylvarant. The winged youth began to experiment with his capabilities. It was in this way that Lloyd discovered his new favorite pastime: ground-flying.

"Whoo-hoooo!" a brown and white blur shot past Sheena, whipping her black hair around her head.

"Will you cut that out?!" the girl barked at her companion, coughing slightly as his dust cloud enveloped her. Lloyd spun around, coming back around her other side. He was only around five feet off the ground, his wingtips just barely brushing the ground on every downstroke. The boy grinned at her as he spun in a tight circle around behind her.

"Why?" he called out as he passed.

"It's annoying!" Sheena snapped, stomping along the path now, glaring fiercely. "If you want to be close to the ground, why don't you walk?"

"But this is fun!" Lloyd protested, swerving around a rock and nearly flipping himself over in the process, laughing all the while. Sheena softened slightly at the sight. In all the time she'd known him, Lloyd had been so serious that it bordered on grim. It was relieving to know that the playful dog she'd seen in Svafnir was still alive somewhere in him even after everything that had happened to the poor boy. Still…

"You're kicking up dust!" Sheena gagged, waving her arm in front of her face to dispel it. "Why don't you scout ahead or something?"

"I have a better idea!" Sheena had just opened her mouth to demand what his great idea was when something hit her around the middle, hard and heavy. She let out a very girlish squeak of distress as she felt whatever it was lift her into the air. She was just about to shout for Lloyd—_just like him to disappear when the monsters attack_—when a nearby chuckle stopped her.

Sheena cracked open eyes she hadn't known she'd shut, blinking strangely. The ground appeared to have run away from her, and she was now nearly three hundred feet up, and still climbing. There was a thick band of pressure around her waist, leaving her legs dangling beneath her.

"I know you're new to this," a voice grunted inches away from Sheena's ear, "but could you pull up your legs? They're creating drag like you wouldn't believe."

"Lloyd?!" the brunette yelped, yanking her legs flat behind her. It was a difficult position to keep, and she ended up hooking her ankles around the backs of Lloyd's, unable to quite bring herself to care how intimate a position it was. His arms were around her waist, holding her tightly against his chest as he bore her aloft.

"I thought I was too heavy," Sheena quipped, recalling what the wolf had said as he pulled her out of Thoda Geyser.

"I wasn't an angel then," Lloyd replied. "You're still kind of heavy, but more unwieldy than anything. I guess I'm not quite as strong as Colette…"

"At least we'll get to Luin quicker this way," Sheena said, smiling. She folded her arms across her middle to keep them out of the way of his wings, glad that Lloyd couldn't see her face. She didn't want him to think he could just pluck her off the ground anytime he wanted, after all.

~ ~ ~~ ~ ~

They reached Luin at sunset of that day. Lloyd touched down just on the outskirts of town to avoid being seen. Though 'touched down' might have been a bit euphemistic for the controlled crash the winged youth executed. It was pulled off with much screaming on Sheena's part, many bruises on Lloyd's (he'd made sure to fall backwards so that he bore the brunt of the landing instead of his passenger), and quite a few oaths to various deities on the part of both teens.

"Hold on a minute," Lloyd requested as Sheena prepared to storm away towards the city, having called down the wrath of Martel on his entire family (both ancestors and descendants) and brushed herself off a few moments previously. Sheena, still seething from the shock, turned and folded her arms.

"What do you want now?"

"I think it'd be better for me to go in as Svafnir rather than an angel," Lloyd explained. "I really hope the wolf-me won't have wings, too, now…"

"I doubt it," Sheena reassured him. "If your arms don't carry over, why would your wings?"

"I guess. Here goes," Lloyd shrugged and put a hand on his wrist. To his disappointment, the pain was just as soul-smothering as ever, and he was just as disoriented after the rushing-shrinking feeling as he had been before he'd lost all tactile sense. He found that now, as a wolf, he was still numb, though his wings had thankfully disappeared.

Unfortunately, it wasn't just his wings.

"My tail!" Lloyd yelped suddenly, spinning in circles as he attempted to see his own rear. "What happened to my tail?!"

"It's gone," Sheena supplied helpfully. Lloyd shot her a sharp glare.

"No, really? I hadn't noticed!" his voice was high with indignation and worry. "What happened to it? What kind of wolf doesn't have a tail? And how am I going to explain this to Genis?!"

"Calm down, it's not that big of a deal," Sheena commanded. "It didn't do anything anyway."

"So?" Lloyd lamented. "Would you 'calm down' if all your hair suddenly fell out? It doesn't do anything, after all!"

"Now you're being stupid," the girl rolled her eyes. "Just tell Genis you got in a fight with a monster and it was chopped off. It happens all the time to dogs."

"I look ridiculous," Lloyd continued to moan even as he fell in step beside Sheena. To her relief, he merely hung his head as he walked instead of complaining. After a few moments of silence, he looked up.

"Hey, Sheena?"

"Yeah?"

"When I transformed there… did I shrink?" Lloyd asked, raging curiosity in his voice.

Sheena blinked. "Huh?"

"I've always wondered, but I never thought to ask until now."

"Um…" Sheena stared blankly at her formerly-bipedal companion. "I don't know what you mean."

"After the pain and the light, I feel like I shrink and then regrow as a wolf," Lloyd explained impatiently. "So did I really?"

"I don't know," Sheena shrugged. "The light grew, then faded, and you were a wolf. That was all I saw."

"Aw, man," Lloyd slumped. "No tail and still no answer. This day sucks."

"Says the boy who can fly," Sheena snorted. Lloyd perked up a bit at that, and his butt wiggled slightly as if he were attempting to wag a tail that wasn't there.

"It probably disappeared because your Exsphere lost even more of its power," the girl theorized suddenly. Lloyd took a moment to realize that she had changed the subject before replying.

"Probably. There was a whole lot of the angel-mana at the Wind Seal. Soon I might not be able to turn into a wolf at all," the canine sagged despondently at this thought. "I… I don't want that to happen. I'd rather take off my other Exsphere and endure the pain of the wings disappearing. As long as I was with Genis, he wouldn't let me forget I was human again. I just hope my tail would come back… But then I wouldn't be able to talk with my friends anymore…"

"Or you could tell them what you really are," Sheena suggested offhandedly.

"Don't you start, too."

"They're your friends, Lloyd," the purple-clad assassin argued back. "Genis is your best friend, Kratos is your own damn _father_, Colette's not exactly your normal girl anyway, and Raine is a half-elf. I very much doubt any of them will persecute you or try to kill you."

"Say that again after you've been run out of more than one town for being homeless," Lloyd challenged. "And that was when they thought I was a regular old human, too. Humans are close-minded bigots who try to kill anything different from themselves."

"…I'm human," Sheena said quietly.

"I know," Lloyd answered just as softly. "But, someday, you might end up killing me too."

The rest of the walk to Luin was silent.

~ ~ ~~ ~ ~

Lloyd was woken up by the sound of shouting. He rose to his paws from the hearthrug he'd been curled up on, still half-asleep even as he scented the air, trying to pinpoint the disturbance. It seemed to be coming from outside. The smell of smoke drifted faintly in through the half-open window, sending Lloyd careening up the staircase at full tilt, memories of Iselia haunting his mind.

Sheena had checked up with the friends she had gone to Luin to see. They had turned out to be an older couple living by themselves in a house that seemed a bit larger than necessary. This would not have been all that strange by itself, but Sheena had spent half of last night shut up in their basement, which Lloyd had been locked out of. No one would tell him what was down there, either, which led Lloyd to believe that it was something—or someone—illegal. He didn't really mind, though. Sheena was a smart girl; she wouldn't get herself mixed up in anything too terrible.

In any case, she had retired to an upstairs guest room sometime late last night, and that was where Lloyd was headed now. He met Sheena on the stairs, her sash tied sloppily and her tunic askew, showing that she had woken up in just as much of a hurry as Lloyd.

"What's going on out there?" she barked.

"I don't know; I just woke up and came to see if you did!" Lloyd replied. As one, the girl and the wolf thundered down the stairs and out the front door, coming to a halt on the front stoop. Lloyd's hackles shot up along with his upper lip, in as much surprise as anger.

It was Iselia all wrapped up in Palmacosta. The soldiers—as in Iselia—were burning and destroying anything they came across, simultaneously throwing out belongings in a citywide search—as in Palmacosta. Unlike either previous scenario, however, this time the villagers were not left to scream and run for safety. Instead, they were rounded up by the Desians and hauled away—men, women, and children alike.

"You, there!" a Desian leading a troop of six others approached, his sword out. "You're under arrest!"

"Ngh," Sheena made an inarticulate noise of frustration, pulling a few cards out of her sash and holding them at shoulder-height, ready to be thrown. Lloyd suppressed his urge to snarl loudly—after all, he was a wanted wolf, and drawing attention to himself was unwise. In the end, though, it hardly mattered.

"Sir! That's the wolf Lord Kvar told us to look for!" one Desian shouted. The leader stepped forward aggressively.

"Take the girl!" he ordered his underlings. "Search the house and drag out anyone inside. I'll take care of the mutt."

Famous last words. As the Desian moved forward to seize Lloyd's scruff, the wolf surged upwards onto his hind legs, burying his fangs into the man's collarbone just above his breastplate. Sheena took out the two that had started towards her with a few well-placed kicks, reserving her cards for later. The remaining three attacked en masse, but fared little better against the experienced fighters.

"Why are the Desians attacking?" Lloyd demanded once they were dead, turning his hardest glare on the assassin beside him. He knew this had something to do with whatever was in the basement, he just didn't know what.

"They must have found out…" Sheena muttered. Then, louder, "An escapee from the ranch—Pietro. They're harboring him in the basement. Or, they were. He left for Hima last night after you fell asleep." A new chorus of screams arose, along with a fountain of sparks that shot upwards like a reverse waterfall. Sheena's face paled in horror. "The children…"

"You help the townspeople," Lloyd instructed. "I'll go see if I can lead the children to safety."

"Go, then," Sheena nodded. The wolf was off in a heartbeat, following his nose and ears to where the fighting seemed the thickest. He pounded over a short bridge, the lake to either side washed yellow and black in a reflection of the sky. On the other side, he found what had once been a pristine white fountain, but was now covered in thick black soot that shot erratic, spluttering jets of water from broken pipes. In front of this monument of destruction, a battle was taking place between several villagers—shoddily armed with pitchforks and fire pokers—and a contingent of Desians. It was clear even from where Lloyd stood who was going to win.

He was just about to run forward to aid the Luinians' attack when a small sound pulled him up short. Ears pricked and nose working, Lloyd slipped around the side of the fountain. There, behind a lamppost, huddled a gang of frightened children. The children recoiled in fear as Lloyd approached, no doubt seeing his bloodstained fur and red eyes glowing like embers plucked straight from the fires of their burning homes. Lloyd wished he had a tail to wag, but had to settle for a friendly whine.

"It's okay, I'm not going to hurt you," he promised lowly. "Quick, you have to come with me. I'll take you somewhere safe."

"It… talks?" an older boy whispered.

"Hurry," Lloyd ordered, more sharply. "While your parents are distracting the Desians. Put the little ones on my back." The boy and two other older kids obeyed, placing the littlest of their number—just barely toddlers themselves—on the wolf's back, making sure they kept tight hold of his fur. When he was carrying as many as he could, Lloyd began to lead the small group away at a quick trot—as fast as he could go without losing the walkers or shaking off the riders.

The children stuck closely to Lloyd's flanks, terrified by the violence all around them. Lloyd did his best to reassure them, murmuring mindless comforts as well as urges to hurry as he led them down what he thought was the quickest path out of town. He would hide the children in the bushes down by the river and then come back to help Sheena defend what was left of the town.

It took much, much longer to get to the river than Lloyd would have liked. By the time they got there, he had slowed to a walk and was craning his neck upwards, an injured child he had come across dangling by the back of her shirt from his jaws while yet another leaned against his shoulder for support.

Finally, they reached a copse of closely-gathered trees screened by thick clumps of bushes that Lloyd deemed safe enough. He carefully placed the singed girl down beneath a large, spreading bush, wiggling slightly to dislodge his little passengers. He herded them all to the bush, gazing into the eyes of the oldest ones earnestly.

"Whatever happens, _stay here_, you got it? Don't move for _anything. _If any Desians come, hide in the bushes, not in the trees. I'll be back to get you when it's safe," he listed sternly.

"What about them?" the oldest girl cradled the injured girl and boy close to herself.

"The girl should be fine, it's just a few burns," he assessed, sniffing twice. "The boy has a cut on his leg; wrap it up with leaves or cloth and stop the bleeding. That's all you can do for now. I have to go now, but I promise I'll be back for you. Stay safe, and _stay put_." With that, the wolf wheeled around and pelted back towards Luin as quickly as his paws would take him. His breath came harshly from a combination of fatigue and smoke inhalation.

He reached the center of town in a matter of minutes, only to find that his original prediction was coming true: the Luinians were losing. Badly. Among the swirl of bodies, Lloyd caught sight of a familiar flash of purple. Sheena was among them, fighting the Desians for all she was worth.

Lloyd joined in with a short howl. Later, his memories of that time would fade into a confusion of blood and smoke and too many bodies. He knew that he took many wounds, even though he couldn't feel them, by the way that his body suddenly began to give out and his vision began to blur. His ears were filled by a rushing noise—water? Flames? Screams? He couldn't tell. Time blurred like his vision, the colors and seconds running together into a smoky river of nonsense that seemed to last a lifetime.

When Lloyd's vision finally cleared, he was lying on his side in the middle of the plaza. The smoke had all but cleared, leaving only the faintest of smudges over the vision of devastation that spread out before him. It was like Iselia on the grandest scale imaginable. Lloyd lay there, panting harshly and gazing at the once-beautiful city with sorrowful, drooping eyes. He eventually mustered the effort to crane his head back, catching sight of an exhausted Sheena slumped against the fountain's lip, looking just as beat up as Lloyd guessed himself to be. The Luinians were nowhere in sight. Lloyd vaguely recalled the Desians hauling them away after taking out the assassin and the wolf, leaving them to bleed to death where they lay.

Lloyd really, really hoped he wasn't going to bleed to death. He hoped the Desians hadn't found the children where he'd hidden them. He hoped that Sheena didn't bleed to death, either.

After a few minutes of rambling thoughts, the wolf strained to lift his paw to his nose, hoping that reverting back to his human form would enable him to rise and help Sheena. Wounds didn't disappear in transition as scars did, but they did shrink drastically, making a paper cut out of a knife wound. His leg didn't respond to Lloyd's commands, leading him to believe it was either broken or stabbed. He couldn't tell, since he couldn't feel it.

In a minute, it didn't matter anymore. The sounds of footsteps and hushed voices reached Lloyd long before the scent of people did, overpowered as it was by the reek of charcoal. They weren't just any voices or scents, either. Lloyd craned his head once again, relieved to see that Sheena was still conscious.

"Hold on," he whispered scratchily. "My friends are coming. They'll help us…"

"They'll help you," Sheena corrected, her voice stronger than the wolf had expected. "I'm their enemy."

"I'll make them help you," he promised. Any argument on her part was cut off by the arrival of Colette and her entourage. Two gasps rang out in tandem, followed by the rush of footsteps as Genis and the Chosen ran to their fallen pet's side.

"Svafnir!" the half-elf cried out, distressed. "What happened here? Where have you been?"

"Sheena, too," Colette added worriedly. "Professor, please… heal them!"

"I will heal Svafnir," Raine agreed, casting the fallen assassin an inscrutable look. "But she must wait until she has told us what is going on. This may all be a trap set by her and her companions."

"Professor!" Colette protested.

"Hah!" Sheena barked a bitter laugh, an odd note in her voice. She seemed oddly… hurt, Lloyd saw with some confusion. "You're just as devious as you look."

"…Call me what you like," Raine's voice was just as odd as Sheena's, and strangely hesitant for the usually-confident teacher. "Healing Wind." A stream of green life-energy poured over Lloyd, sealing his wounds and revitalizing him. The wolf climbed to his paws and shook himself briskly. He couldn't say he felt better, since he hadn't felt his wounds in the first place, but his weariness had evaporated, and his body responded readily to his brain's commands once more.

"It's not a trap," Lloyd asserted once he had finished. "She's got no companions in this town… Not anymore, anyway."

"Your word is just as unreliable as hers," Kratos said coldly. "For all we know, you've been in league with her the entire time, or being coerced into convincing us to lower our guard."

"Kratos!" Now it was Genis's turn to protest, outraged.

"What he says makes sense," Raine folded her arms stubbornly. "Now explain what occurred here."

"Take a look at this city. Everything's in ruin," Sheena gestured weakly with one arm, the other pressing a hand to her bleeding stomach. "The Desians… invaded."

"What?!" Genis jerked back. Lloyd could tell that his mind, too, was flying to the events in Iselia and Palmacosta.

"Do you know about the human ranch northeast of here?" At their nods, Sheena continued her pained explanation. "The people of this city had been hiding some folks who escaped from the ranch. The Desians found out about it, and not only was the entire population forced to go to the ranch, but the city was destroyed."

"So how were you and Svafnir injured?" Colette wanted to know. She sounded puzzled rather than the suspicious tone one might expect. Vintage Colette.

"It's nothing. I was just a little clumsy," Sheena attempted to wave it off, but ended up coughing painfully halfway through. Lloyd bristled indignantly.

"That's not true!" he began.

"Shut it, mutt!" the purple-clad girl barked gruffly, overriding his protest. Genis looked between the angry-looking wolf and the angry-looking assassin with dawning perception, his own face beginning to reflect anger.

"You… You were the one who did this to Svafnir, weren't you?!" he accused. "You attacked him and now you're trying to get out of it!"

"What?" Lloyd's fur flattened instantly, his face reflecting his perplexity. "N-no! That's not what…!" His protest was cut off once more, this time by a scream.

"Ahh! Help me, please!" Everyone in the plaza whirled around as the cries drew closer, withdrawing various weapons. Sheena climbed painfully to her feet, cards in hand.

A man in the robes of a pastor stumbled into the town center, trying to run despite the hampering skirts. Behind him lumbered a surprisingly agile, terribly familiar figure. Once again, both Lloyd and Kratos visibly tensed at the monster's approach, narrowed eyes taking in the ragged dress and lumpy, hardened skin.

"It's Clara!" Raine exclaimed in shock. "She managed to get all the way here!"

"Stay back, you monster!" Sheena cried, sprinting forward—swift despite her wounds—a card held ready for use. The moment she was close enough, two arms shot out to attack—and, unfortunately, Clara's reach was longer. The creature swatted Sheena away like a cat brushing away an irritating kitten. The girl fell to the cobbles with a grunt and a splatter of blood.

"Dammit!" Lloyd growled, preparing to spring forward. He was beaten to it by, of all people, Colette, who released her wings so as to hover at face-height with the monster.

"Clara, please calm down!" she pleaded. Lloyd swore again. She didn't even have her weapons out! Predictably, Clara did the exact opposite of calming down, and only became more enraged. With a gurgling cry, the creature swiped clawlike hands at Colette, knocking the angel from the air. She hit the ground once and bounced slightly, her wings dissipating on contact with the ground. Clara hooted once more and fled the way she had come, evidently not liking her odds against the four remaining beings, all of whom had rushed forward in response to the attack on the Chosen.

"Colette, are you okay?" Genis knelt down by the girl as Lloyd kept a sharp lookout in the direction Clara-creature had disappeared in case she came back while they were distracted. Colette rose to her feet cautiously, flashing a small, dazed smile.

"Y-yes," she nodded. Raine glanced her over but, finding no visible injuries, turned her attention to the downed Sheena, who appeared only semi-conscious at this point.

"She's lost a lot of blood," Kratos noted disinterestedly.

"Raine, please heal her!" Lloyd begged. "She saved my life at the Balacruf Mausoleum, and she was wounded trying to save these townspeople. I was there, I saw it!"

"Please, Professor!" Colette added her own voice.

"…Fine," Raine gave in with surprisingly little convincing, her eyes never wavering from the injured girl at her feet. Then, in a halfhearted attempt to distance herself from her decision, "But I swear, you're all way too softhearted for your own good." Kratos pulled a face at his inclusion in this assessment, but held his peace for the sake of not causing any more strife among the group.

The half-elf woman strode a bit closer and held her staff over the brunette's body. "Healing Wind," she intoned. There was the familiar sparkle of green, and Sheena's smaller wounds vanished entirely, while the larger ones faded to mere pink lines. Amber eyes flickered open, darting around for a second before she registered where she was and what must have happened. Slowly—despite her lack of injuries—she climbed to her feet and looked around at them all. Her eyes landed on Raine, as the closest one to her, and it was to her that the question was addressed.

"…Why… why did you save me?"

"…Does it matter?" Raine looked away. "You should simply be thankful that I did. Otherwise, you might have died far before your time."

"…Thanks," Sheena ducked her head to hide her smile. Lloyd leaned closer, blinking. Was that… a blush…?

"I swear to repay this debt," she said quickly, turning on her heel and beginning to stride away. "Farewell…"

"Wait just one Volt-damned second!" Lloyd lunged forward to seize a mouthful of her tunic's hem, pulling the assassin up in her tracks. She turned her head to glare, all traces of what might or might not have been a blush gone now.

"What do you want?"

"You're not just leaving it like that!" he snarled through the mouthful of fabric. "What was all that stuff back in Asgard, huh?"

"I wasn't going to let a helpless… animal… die," Sheena yanked at her tunic, but the wolf did not budge. "We agreed to work together until you met up with your friends again, and that's what happened, okay? Our business is done."

"Screw that!" Lloyd barked. Unfortunately, to do so, he released her shirt. The girl was several yards away in a twinkling, jogging backwards to better glare at him.

"Since you all seem to have forgotten, I'll remind you: I'm trying to _kill_ you!"

"What about the Luinians?!" Lloyd howled.

"Rescue them yourselves!" she tossed over her shoulder as she turned to flee. "They're in the Asgard Human Ranch. And remember what I said last night!" And then she was gone, vanished in the drifting smoke and charred wreckage.

Four pairs of eyes bored curiously into the sides of Lloyd's heads, an amazing range of expressions crossing their faces like rainbows.

"…You know," Genis began thoughtfully, "if you were a human, I'd have some very valid questions about that last sentence…"

"Okay, _ick_," Lloyd shuddered, curling his lip in revulsion. "Don't think I won't bite you, brat, because I will if you suggest that again."

"I said 'if you were human'," Genis pointed out. "You're not, so it wouldn't make any sense anyway."

"Still, it's _creepy_," he argued. The wolf checked himself internally, frowning at his own reaction to the idea of… that. With Sheena. He really was a human guy, so he shouldn't be feeling so creeped-out by it, should he? It must be his wolf mind at work in his subconscious, he decided.

"Svafnir," Raine interrupted their bickering, her voice mild, "what happened to your tail?"

"His tail?" Genis repeated, following his sister's gaze. Blue eyes grew as round as saucers. "Oh my G…! Your _tail_!"

"That's about how I felt, too," Lloyd glanced over his shoulder sadly. Not even a stump… "You heard me say Sheena saved my life, right? The night after breaking the Seal of Wind, I went for a walk because I couldn't sleep. I went a little too far, I guess, and I was attacked by a monster. It… got my tail, and knocked me out. Sheena came along and saved me. She helped me recover in Asgard, and since by then I knew you had to have moved on, I decided to stay with her since she was bound to meet up with you guys sooner or later…"

"…Because she's trying to kill us," Raine finished dryly.

"She saved my life!" Lloyd snapped. "And she was really nice to me afterwards. She's not a bad person."

"That is not the point in contention," the healer propped her hands on her hips. "Good people can still do terrible things."

"No, those are _bad_ people," Lloyd said with exaggerated patience. "Sheena hasn't done anything bad yet!"

"So we're on a first-name basis with our own personal assassin now, are we?" Raine was getting angry, Lloyd could see it rolling off her in an almost visible wave.

"I am still unconvinced that you are not aiding her in spying on us," Kratos put in stonily. "You disappear every night for these 'walks' and do not return until morning. You and she are alone together quite often. And now we have a very convenient reason to trust her—based on _your _word."

"And my tail just fell off on its own, did it?" Lloyd snarled. "Do you think I chopped it off myself to _convince_ you? And don't you think if this were a plot to get your trust, she might have actually _stayed_ when I asked her to?"

"You seem to have given it quite a bit of thought," Kratos shot back.

"And you don't seem to have given it any!" Lloyd rebutted, his fur beginning to fluff up. "If I wanted Colette dead like she did, I'd have done it in her sleep long ago instead of this spying-assassin-conspiracy thing you keep yapping on about! I don't know anything about her except her name, and the fact that she prays to the moon."

"The moon?" Genis repeated, blinking.

"Yeah, I heard her in that House of Salvation that one time," Lloyd nodded. "She definitely said 'Tethe'alla'."

"You pray to the Summon Spirits," Kratos stated flatly.

"So that makes me evil?" Lloyd rolled his eyes. Undine damn it, but his father was _irritating_ when he was suspicious. Maybe _this_ was the reason all teenagers seemed to hate their parents. Or maybe that was just Kratos...

"I did wonder about that," Colette admitted sheepishly, her hands clasped over her chest. "Don't you believe in Martel?"

"Eh," Lloyd shrugged. "I'm more of a deist than anything. The Summon Spirits are the only 'deities' I've seen definitive proof of, and the only ones whose influence touches me. If Martel does exist, she sure hasn't helped me."

"That's a view common to prisoners of the human ranches, I believe," Raine nodded. "As a victim of a Desian experiment, I'd imagine the symptoms to be similar. Speaking of which…"

"I don't know any more than Lloyd," the brown and white wolf said tiredly. "It's been on me for as long as I can remember."

"You and he share a very similar speech pattern," the redheaded mercenary persisted.

"People who hang around each other for as long as we have often pick up each other's speaking habits," Lloyd countered. "Now, are we going to stand here all day, or are we going to go help the Luinians?" Abruptly, his eyes widened. "Damn, I forgot! The kids!"

Before a word more could be said, Lloyd was off and running, headed for the river. With every thump of his paws against stone, wood, and dirt, he prayed in his mind.

_Please, don't let them be dead. Please, please, please don't let them be dead…_


	15. Unwanted?

**IF THIS IS THE SECOND TIME YOU'VE GOT A CHAPTER UPDATE, I APOLOGIZE SINCERELY. IN MY STUPIDITY, I HIT THE 'DELETE' BUTTON FOR THIS CHAPTER, AND AM NOW RE-UPLOADING IT. I APOLOGIZE AGAIN, AND BEG YOU TO KEEP IN MIND THAT I ONCE SPENT FIFTEEN MINUTES ATTEMPTING TO WORK A PAY PHONE. I'M NOT THE MOST MENTALLY AGILE OF INDIVIDUALS. NOW BACK TO YOUR REGULARLY-SCHEUDLED FANFIC.**

**Kitty: And here is the introduction of the Asgard Human Ranch… The Asgard Human Ranch: We're Nowhere Near Asgard!**

**Genis: How can you say something so... so CHIPPER after leaving them with a cliffhanger like that?!**

**Kitty: Because I make these A/Ns days after I've typed the chapter. I'm entirely immune to their whims. ^^ Anyway, I'm mostly testing to see if ffn is back and un-glitched. If you're reading this... then the results are positive.**

**Zelos: What results? What positive?! I SWEAR, IT WASN'T ME!**

**Genis: O.O**

**Kitty: O.O**

**Zelos: ...What were we talking about?**

**Genis: -.-" YearOfTheKitty does not own Tales of Symphonia, thank Martel, or this chaos would be typical...**

**Kitty: I hate to say it, but that particular chaos probably is for Zelos, if he's not all bark and no bite. Enjoy... er. I just remembered... um... Do your very best not to track me down and kill me in my own home...?**

**Genis: And now you've scared them. Just read it.**

**Zelos: No, seriously, I want to know. What results were positive and why is everybody leering at the screen like that?**

~ ~ ~~ ~ ~

**Chapter Fifteen**

**Unwanted?**

"_How many times can I break till I shatter?"_

—_O.A.R, 'Shattered (Turn the Car Around)'_

Lloyd stared at the flattened patch of ferns. Above him, trees curled into a vault of cool light, sheltering him from the oppressive infinity of the sky. Their smooth trunks huddled close as if to embrace him, as if to comfort him. The brown grass bobbed a reassuring dance around his paws in an attempt to cheer him up with their silliness. The leaves were blotchy shades of brown now, the yellow all but gone as the plants began the slow process of dying. He hadn't seen that last night. Autumn had crept in without him realizing it.

The wolf bowed his head and squeezed his eyes shut. If wolves had had tear ducts, he knew the dying grass beneath his paws would think it was raining. If his legs had been bent the right direction, he would have fallen to his knees in despair. As it was, his throat was too tight to even howl.

"Svafnir…?" Genis came up behind him, his voice soft. "What's wrong?"

"The kids…" Lloyd whispered hoarsely. "I told them to wait here for me… I told them not to move… Where are they? Don't tell me… Don't tell me they're…" He couldn't finish, his voice breaking on a dry sob.

"Children?" even Kratos was upset by this news. Lloyd nodded miserably.

"I led them away while the town was burning. But I left Sheena… I told them to wait while I went back to help her and the other Luinians, but…" he shook his head and let out a sobbing laugh. "I-I'm such a screw-up, aren't I? Can't even save a single person…"

"Your decision was logical," Raine inserted. Lloyd supposed it was her brand of comfort and, in an odd way, it did soothe him a little. "It was impossible for you to know that the Desians would come this far upriver."

"You couldn't save a whole town on your own," Colette put in her own reassurance. "Besides, you've kept Lloyd safe all by yourself for all these years, haven't you?"

"…Yeah…" Lloyd shrugged. Any good feeling from Raine's words was shot mercilessly down by Colette's. And yet, there was no way to explain to her that keeping 'Lloyd' alive all these years was as much an act of cowardice as abandoning the children by the river.

"In any case, it is obvious that the Desians have taken them away to the human ranch as well," Kratos stated, bringing the topic back to the matter at hand.

"We have to save them!" Genis declared adamantly.

"Yes," Colette agreed, nodding fervently.

"Definitely," Lloyd finished. "I can track them by scent—it looks like they took a shortcut off-road. It'll be quicker to follow them directly."

"Do so, then," Raine ordered shortly. "The sooner we are finished, the sooner we can return to our real journey."

Lloyd huffed at this cold-blooded sentiment, but obediently lowered his nose to the leaves. A few sniffs later and he had it. The smell of half-elves and young humans intermixed with the stench of fear, all heading in one direction.

"That way," he swung his muzzle in the indicated direction. The group set off at a fast walk, led by the tailless wolf. Genis hopped up onto his back only a few yards later. Lloyd didn't mind—the boy was as light as air due to his new angelic strength—though he did notice that his use as a means of conveyance was steadily increasing.

The path led them almost at a right angle directly away from the river, only slightly angled north. The walk was mostly silent except for Lloyd's snuffles and the occasional thump as Colette tripped over her own feet. The view was much the same as it had been throughout the journey: molting trees and scrubland as far as the eye could see with hazy mountains in the distance. Lloyd's view was even worse: grass and dirt only the length of his own nose from his face.

Eventually, Genis leaned forward to speak into the wolf's ear. His voice was low—unwilling to break the silence that had descended—but worried.

"Are the children alright, do you think? Do you smell… blood?" he inquired.

"I don't smell it," he answered carefully, and just as quietly. "That doesn't mean it isn't there, though. The smell of half-elves is overpowering."

"What?!" Genis's voice broke with indignation. "It is not!"

"Not what I mean, twerp," Lloyd laughed. "I meant there were more of them walking here than humans, so their smell is stronger."

"We don't smell," Genis held stubbornly.

"All things smell," Lloyd contradicted. "A rabbit smells different from a deer, but that's not to say either smell is necessarily bad. Same thing with elves and humans, and half-elves, by extension."

"Oh." Something seemed to dawn on Genis. "Wait, so you knew the entire time?"

"Well, yeah," Lloyd snorted. "Not to mention that whole banishment thing in Iselia. I was there for that, too, you know."

"Oh, yeah," the white-haired boy realized. "I keep forgetting you were smart then, too." Lloyd said nothing to this, and quiet fell once more between them. It was broken only minutes later.

"…Thank you."

"What for?" Lloyd glanced over his shoulder, claret eyes meeting cyan ones.

"Not saying anything to Colette and Kratos about Raine and me," the little mage clarified.

"No problem. It's part of what kept me with you two afterwards—in addition to owing you, I mean," Lloyd's tongue hung out of the side of his mouth.

"That's the opposite of the usual reaction," Genis noted gloomily.

"I guess, but I identify with half-elves," Lloyd sniffed the ground twice and continued, satisfied with their direction. "They're like me: despised by all for matters they had no control over and cannot change."

"You said something in Palmacosta," his passenger remembered, speaking slowly. "'People like you are the reason I hate humans'. You… hate humans…?" There was a noticeable hesitation after the word 'humans'.

"…'too'? Is that what you were going to say?" Lloyd's smile turned sad. "I can't actually say for sure. I mean, I do hate them. It makes me physically sick sometimes, the things they do. But since I haven't met any elves yet, I can't say for sure whether it's humans I hate… or the whole world."

"…What about us?" Genis's voice was small and hurt.

"I told you already—half-elves are fine. You and Raine are some of my first friends ever," Lloyd assured him. "And Colette is like no human I've ever met; she's an angel, so she doesn't count. I like her."

"What about Kratos?"

"Well…" Lloyd sighed. "D—Kratos is actually a pretty typical specimen, from what I've gathered. He's violent, aggressive, cold-hearted, and generally a jerk. But then again… I've also seen him be kind and caring…" Lloyd shut his eyes momentarily. "There are extenuating circumstances in his case." He opened them again and attempted to wag a tail that wasn't there. He had to settle for a flick of his ears instead.

"I thought dogs were man's best friend," Genis smirked teasingly.

"But apparently talking, tailless wolves are half-elves'," Lloyd shot back. "So sorry to disappoint."

"Aw, that was so sweet! Do you want a treat, boy?" Genis cooed. There was a loud thump as he was unceremoniously tipped off Lloyd's back onto the hard ground, raising a cloud of dust. The boy was up in a moment, tackling the brown animal so that they were both sent tumbling to the side, wrestling. Raine's shouts went unheeded by the playing duo—that is, until she hauled them apart by their ears.

After that, the walk was much livelier.

~ ~ ~~ ~ ~

Night had fallen by the time they reached the Asgard human ranch. The group lay flat atop a nearby hill, surveying their goal in the dying light. Lloyd and Colette could see it best due to their enhanced eyesight—which, in Lloyd's case, was written off as an animal's night vision—and described the scene to the other three. It was a grim sight. The compound swarmed with Desians like a kicked anthill.

"The security is intense," Genis said, squinting through the shrouds of grayness. "It's completely different from last time."

"Yeah. Even if we get inside…" Lloyd trailed off, thinking hard. Even if they got inside, they'd be detected within moments. They had to come up with a plan that would keep them safe even after they were inside. But how? The only ones safe inside of a human ranch…

"Hmm… There is a way, though…" Raine was musing aloud.

"Raine, I bet you're thinking the same thing I'm thinking," Lloyd said with a grin.

"What? What are we going to do?" Colette asked eagerly.

"We'll disguise ourselves as Desians and sneak in," Lloyd announced triumphantly.

"…I'm surprised you were able to think up such a plan," Raine stated thoughtfully. Too thoughtfully. Lloyd hurried to cover his tracks.

"Of course! Lloyd and I used to do this kind of thing all the time," the wolf grinned. There. That should put off any suspicions about _that_. Then again…

"You snuck into human ranches?" Colette frowned, confused.

"No… We stole stuff," Lloyd tried to put it as delicately as possible. "And… broke into stores at night… and shoplifted during the day…"

_Maybe that's enough confession for now_, Lloyd winced internally, seeing Colette's face fall drastically.

"He was a _thief_?" she cried in distress.

"Of course he was," Genis sighed. "How else could he survive without a home or a job? Not everyone gives out food to strangers like you do, Colette."

"W-We only did it when times were tough, though!" Lloyd hastened to assure both the upset Chosen and his impassively listening father. "And we never broke into someone's home or mugged anyone or anything. No one was hurt."

"That's good, at least," Colette smiled in obvious relief.

"We've gotten away from the point," Raine attempted to regain control of the conversation.

"…The Desian patrol is here," Kratos announced, jerking his head at a platoon of approaching soldiers. "What shall we do?"

"Let's ambush them!" Lloyd suggested eagerly. He hadn't used his usual guerilla tactics in so long… He hoped he wasn't rusty. "Quick, behind those trees!" To say that they scrambled to obey would have been an overstatement, but in a few minutes the party was concealed behind a strand of trees. The thumping of boots grew louder and louder, until the sound was practically all Lloyd could hear. He remembered this—the waiting, the anticipation, and finally, the moment of truth…

"Now!" He leaped out from behind his tree to tackle the Desian around his knees. The soldier went down. Lloyd lunged forward, slamming his skull against the point of the man's chin. His eyes rolled up, and the Desian was out for the count. He straightened to find that Kratos and Raine had taken out their soldiers with blows to the heads from their sword and staff, respectively. Both were giving him strange looks.

"I thought you never mugged anybody?" Genis taunted, smirking crookedly.

"I didn't!" Lloyd growled defensively. "There's more than one reason to know how to knock someone out, you know."

"Regardless, we have a problem," Raine stated, looking at the soldiers.

"What is it?" Colette asked, a worried note weaving into her voice.

"Those two," she indicated the unconscious Desians, "are teenage boys. Their uniforms would be too large for Genis, and yet too small for Kratos."

"That one is a woman," Lloyd noted, staring at the final Desian.

"Brilliant," Genis rolled his eyes.

"So Raine has to be the Desian?" Colette confirmed.

"It seems that way," Raine sighed heavily, eyeing the length of the uniform's skirt. She got a vague feeling in the back of her mind that the uniform had been designed by men. Sexist Desian bastards… "Let's go. We should make camp in Luin to avoid detection. We can sneak into the ranch tomorrow morning."

"Yeah, okay," Lloyd nodded. Nobody moved. They all stood staring at each other for a few minutes.

"Oh, for Martel's sake!" the aggravated teacher finally burst out. "Kratos, Genis, Svafnir, _out_! Were you just going to stand there and watch me strip the poor woman?!"

"Oh, Mithos!" Genis's face caught fire. "I wasn't even…! I didn't…! Come on, Colette!" The half-elf seized his friend's arm and began tugging her away in the direction of Luin, evidentally momentarily forgetting his friend's gender. Kratos followed, shaking his head speechlessly at his apparent demotion to their level of immaturity. He was being lumped together with them far too often lately. He was four thousand years old, for Martel's sake, and he was a father to boot—this was most assuredly not his first camping trip. He'd just been waiting for the others to leave so he could follow.

Lloyd, meanwhile, was wondering much the same thing.

"…Why was I included in that order?" he asked Raine as the others began to move away. The half-elf woman looked up sharply, blinking as if surprised to find Lloyd there.

"Forgive me. You act and speak like a teenage human boy, so I thought of you as such," she apologized. Then, "Though your unwillingness to leave would imply that…"

"Ugh! No!" Lloyd choked, spinning and vacating the area as swiftly as lupinely possible. Again, he might have been a bit more concerned—being, in actual fact, a teenage human boy—about his reaction, had his mind not been on other things right then. Such as catching up to Genis and Colette (who, he realized with a burst of amusement, had suddenly become 'one of the guys').

They camped in the ruins of Luin that night. Genis cooked up a quick, meatless stew (they had had no time to hunt that evening) which the others downed joylessly. Lloyd and Colette jointly volunteered for night watch. Raine returned just as Genis and Kratos were settling into their bedrolls around the fire, a bundle of clothes under her arm. Lloyd smelled blood on her. Half-elf blood, though not hers or Genis's.

_Those soldiers_, he thought sadly. _Of course, if we'd left them they would have woken and reported back by morning… I guess it was nice of her to spare Genis and Colette that, though I bet Dad knows already…_

He sighed and laid his head on his paws, staring out into the night for any sign of hostile life. There was none. It was going to be a long night.

~ ~ ~~ ~ ~

The next morning saw Lloyd's greatest humiliation to date.

He'd known they would be posing as Raine's prisoners. He'd known she would have to pretend to restrain them—and she did, by looping two circles of twine loosely around their hands. As long as they held their arms correctly, it was doubtful the Desians would look any closer.

What Lloyd had not anticipated, however, was the muzzle.

"I can't believe this!" he hissed for what must have been the twelfth time in the last ten minutes.

"Raine," Genis groaned, "I think you made the muzzle wrong. He's _still talking_."

"Svafnir," the healer woman said severely, for the twelfth time in the last ten minutes, "you have to keep quiet, or the disguise won't work. You have to look like a prisoner."

"But it's humiliating!" Lloyd whined, dragging his paws so that Raine had to tug on the makeshift leash they had fashioned from a rope to make him keep up. "If it comes to a fight, _they_ can just bring their arms around and—_poof_!—they can fight again. _My _only weapon is wrapped up like a birthday present!"

"Tighten it," Genis begged his sister. "Please."

"It's loose enough for you to talk, isn't it?" Raine glared from beneath her helmet. She was just as sick of the wolf's whining as her brother. "It should be easy enough for you to snap the twine if you have to. Who are you trying to impress in the human ranch, anyway? If you want to talk about humiliating, just look at what I have to wear!"

"Please stop fighting," Colette interjected. "It's just for right now, okay, Svafnir? I promise to cut it off first thing if we have to fight."

"…Fine…" Lloyd glared at his paws, unable to say no to Colette's big, pleading eyes.

_Did she just win an argument with a dog by giving it puppy eyes?_ He shook his head angrily. _I'm such a sucker…_

They soon reached the Desian compound, their progress much swifter now that they knew the way. Raine took the lead, marching right up to the front gate as if she had every right to do so. Lloyd was impressed by her acting skills despite himself. Though in hindsight, 'meek' had never been a word you so much as thought in the presence of Raine Sage.

"Stop!" one guard's voice rang out authoritatively.

"I've done it!" Raine told him triumphantly. The guard looked puzzled at this apparent non-sequitor.

"…Done what?"

"I've found the wanted criminal Genis Sage, and that wolf of his, too!" Raine shook the leash in her hand as proof while using her free hand to gesture at her younger brother, who was displaying his own skills as an actor. If Lloyd hadn't known better, he would have thought Genis really thought they were going to die.

_It must run in the family_, he thought fondly.

"What?! Good work!" the guard congratulated her enthusiastically. "That's the dog all right; I can see its Crystal right there!"

"I want to turn them over to the Five Grand Cardinals immediately. Let me through," Raine commanded.

"Understood. Go on in!" the Desian stepped aside, allowing Raine to lead her troupe of 'prisoners' into the ranch. Lloyd allowed himself a moment of triumph. They had just infiltrated one of the best-defended places in all of Sylvarant in broad daylight through the front door. And it had been his plan, too. He was a genius.

The trip through the ranch wasn't as exciting as Lloyd had imagined. It was mostly metal hallways with Desians walking up and down them, or metal rooms with Desians coming in and out of them. It would have been indistinguishable from almost any building in the world, if every building in the world was made of metal. Lloyd soon slumped, allowing his head to sag forward. It wasn't even worth the humiliation of the muzzle…

Raine led them through the base with a slightly sharper eye than Lloyd. After many hallways and even more odd looks from passing Desians, she ushered the group into what appeared to be some sort of control room. One wall of the room was glass, showing a clear view of the room beyond it.

"It looks like this is an Exsphere manufacturing plant," Raine observed, peering through the window. On the other side, conveyor belts whirred endlessly forward, carrying the Exspheres onwards towards their final destination. A few Desians milled about, patrolling.

"…So it would seem," Kratos nodded.

"So many Exspheres…" Lloyd growled softly.

"You don't like them?" Colette wanted to know.

"I haven't had much luck with them so far," Lloyd glanced down at his paw. Raine and Kratos began to move ahead, but he, Colette, and Genis lingered by the window. It was an incredible sight, and a sobering one. Lloyd wondered if any of those Exspheres would turn their wearers into animals. He doubted it. Raine's hadn't, nor Genis's, nor Kratos's. Only he was afforded _that_ particular honor.

Maybe 'embittering' would be a better adjective than 'sobering', he admitted internally.

"…Shh," Colette suddenly shushed them, though they hadn't been talking. "I hear voices coming from the next room." Lloyd pricked up his ears.

"I hear them, too."

"I don't hear anything…" Genis grumbled.

"What good are those pointy ears of yours, anyway?" Lloyd joked. "Just trust us. Now come on, we're being left behind." The trio hurried to catch up with their elders, reaching them in a matter of moments.

Exactly as they reached them, the door was flung open from the other side, banging against the wall with a resounding crash. Three figures hurried in, halting at the sight of the gathering before them. Not a one was familiar to Lloyd.

"Hmm?! You!" the one in the center—a broad-shouldered man with forked brown hair—glared at Kratos in recognition.

"You're the Desians that attacked Colette in Iselia!" Genis glared right back. Lloyd dropped into a crouch, ready to spring. He'd entered that fight late, so he hadn't seen the forked-haired man or his lackeys before, but he trusted Genis's word.

"They still think we're Desians," the lackey to the left scoffed. Since he was dressed in Desian armor, Lloyd found this remark incredibly inane.

"Sir, this is the perfect chance!" the lackey to the right enthused.

"…Are you looking for a fight?" Kratos asked simply. His sword was already half-out of its sheath, though his face was as stonily blank as ever.

"Wait," the forked-haired man ordered his lackeys. "Kratos is with them. We'll retreat for now."

"Like hell I'm letting you get away!" Lloyd snarled. The three not-Desians were already running for the other exit, their boots raising an earsplitting racket on the floor. Lloyd sprang forward in pursuit, followed by Genis, Colette, Raine, and—after a moment—Kratos.

Just then, the third door to the room slammed open with just as much force as its predecessor. Through it barged three Desian soldiers (presumably the real deal this time, Lloyd thought). Two balls of blindingly yellow light flashed from the soldiers' hands and shot directly at Colette, who was the closest to that door. The light flared so brightly that spots obscured Lloyd's vision. He heard a shout, and then an impact, and then… nothing.

The wolf blinked rapidly to clear his eyes, slowly bringing the room back into focus. Kratos stood before Colette, his sword held horizontally in front of him. A transparent green barrier shimmered out of existence from where it had been before him.

"D—Kratos!" Lloyd yelped, springing forward. He swore internally at his own ineptitude. "Colette!"

"I'm okay," the girl assured him, turning slightly.

"No time for that now," Kratos's voice was tight and tense. "Look behind you!" Colette and Lloyd turned as one.

A man made his way through the Desians in the doorway. He was… almost as singular an individual as Magnius had been, Lloyd thought. His skin was an ashy gray color, his eyes long, slanted slits in his face. His ears were just as pointy as and much longer than Genis's.

"Well this is a surprise," the slit-eyed man said, his voice alive with hidden glee. "When I heard we had some rats, I assumed it was the Renegade, Botta, but instead I find the wanted inferior being and his pet…"

"Who are you?!" Lloyd snarled, stepping in front of the Chosen and his father. He'd take the next attack. He couldn't feel it anyway.

"You barge into my ranch and then demand my name?" the man demanded incredulously, sneering. He didn't seem to register that the one who had spoken was a wolf until he had already answered, at which point his slitted eyes narrowed until they were mere lines in his face.

"It'd have been difficult to do from _outside_ your ranch," Lloyd retorted.

"He's Kvar," Kratos inserted into what was quickly shaping up to be nothing more than an exchange of insults, "one of the Five Desian Grand Cardinals."

"You," Kvar ignored Kratos completely. "You are that mutt Forcystus told me about. The one with the Crystal. Ah, yes," he glanced down at Lloyd's paw, "I see it there. But you are not who we thought you were."

"What are you talking about? I'm me," Lloyd took an aggressive step forward. "I can't be anyone else."

"Stupid animal," the Desian Cardinal sneered at him again. "I meant that you indeed have the Crystal we need, but we thought it to be in the possession of another. No matter, the Crystal is all that matters. And I hear you have a connection to that other inferior rat," Kvar's smile grew sly, "the one with the Angelus Project. What a fortuitous catch for me."

"Leave Svafnir alone!" Colette exclaimed, unable to take any more. She launched both chakrams at the Cardinal, the circles of sharpened metal humming in anticipation as they flew towards him. To Lloyd's dissatisfaction, the Desian dodged the weapons. It distracted him enough, though, to allow Raine to seize Genis and Colette's sleeves and haul them after her at a sprint for the other door. Kratos and Lloyd soon followed, though not without two separate red-eyed glares at Kvar.

They didn't get far at all. At first, everything was a heart-pounding, chaotic confusion of limbs and corners and shouted directions. Just when things had begun to settle into a semblance of organized escape, the group was brought up short by that particularly hated feature of architecture known as a dead end.

And what a dead end it was. Raine, at the forefront of the group, skidded to a sudden halt just at the edge of the platform overlooking a much larger room beneath them. It was very alike the room they had observed through the control room—filled with conveyor belts and guarding Desians—but with one key difference.

The humans.

"Wh—?!" Lloyd couldn't even get his shocked exclamation past the first syllable. His words and breath tangled together and got stuck together, clogging his throat to the point that he wasn't entirely sure if he could breathe anymore. But he wasn't thinking about that, anyway. His entire focus, his entire _being_, every hair on his pelt was trained on the sight before him.

Human beings. Humans on conveyor belts, tied up and guarded by the Desians. Not that they looked in any fit state to go anywhere. There didn't appear to be a one of them that wasn't suffering from some form of the flu. One old woman coughed as Lloyd looked at her, and his mind flashed abruptly back to a shady, sunlit forest.

_Marble._

These were the sickest of the ranch prisoners, he realized, watching them. One by one, under his shell-shocked gaze, the humans disappeared into the mouth of a large machine. From the other end of this machine, large containers emerged. Sans humans.

"What is this?!" he finally managed to howl.

"This," Kvar's voice from behind yanked the heads of the regeneration group around as if they were on strings, a scowl on every face, "is where the Exspheres are removed from the host bodies." The bodies followed the heads as the Desian Cardinal and his contingent of soldiers pressed even closer.

"Do you mean that Exspheres are made from…" Raine's steady voice broke slightly as she swallowed convulsively, unable to hide her revulsion, "…human bodies?"

"Not exactly," Kvar smirked uncaringly. "Exspheres are dormant at first. They extract nourishment from humans to grow and awaken. Human ranches are Exsphere manufacturing plants. Why else would we spend our time raising and taking care of these inferior beings?"

"You're _sick_!" Lloyd sprang forward, his lips drawn back as far as they would go. Only Raine's sudden grab for his leash kept the wolf from jumping on Kvar right then and there. As it was, he strained at the tie furiously, heedless of the way it cut into his throat.

"You're _sick_!" he repeated loudly. "Why would you make things like this? What could you possibly do with them to justify _this_?!"

"I don't understand what _you_ are so worked up about," Kvar regarded him contemptuously. "That Crystal is wasted on an animal such as yourself. I do hope the energy it absorbed from _you_ does not affect the previous results… In any case, Lord Yggdrasill is anxious for its return. And while we're at it, why don't you tell us where that brat with the Angelus Project is? It's time you gave back what you stole, mutt."

"Yggdrasill…" Raine murmured, digging her heels in to keep Lloyd restrained. "I suppose that's the name of your leader."

"What's so special about Svafnir's Exsphere, anyway?" Genis demanded. "And Lloyd's?"

"Both are the result of years of time-consuming research," Kvar growled, finally showing his anger. "That Crystal in particular has been thousands of years in the making. Now I can finally reclaim what was stolen by that filthy female host body…"

"What are you talking about?" Lloyd demanded. A horrible suspicion niggled in the back of his mind. "The female host body? This Crystal is mine!"

"…Hmm?" the Desian Cardinal seemed surprised. "You don't know anything, do you? I would have thought the brat would have told you _something_. After all, it was on his mother—host body A012, human name, Anna—that the Angelus Project was cultured. She took it and escaped from the facility. Unwittingly, she also stole the Navitus Crystal's when she took its host body along with her."

"And who was the Navitus Crystal's host body?" Kratos spoke up suddenly, sharply. Kvar smirked slimily.

"Not 'who', but 'what'," he corrected. "The Navitus Crystal was one of Lord Yggdrasill's first experiments, placed upon one of this world's most fascinating creatures: the protozoan."

"What?!" Kratos jerked back, his eyes going wider than Lloyd had ever seen them go. Raine, too, looked shocked, but not quite as affronted as his father seemed.

"The protozoan?" she echoed. "I hadn't thought it really existed…"

"What's this protozoan?" Lloyd demanded of her, of Kratos, of Kvar, of anyone that would answer his question without raising another!

"It was the first animal born to this world when the power of the Giant Kharlan Tree united with the land itself," the professor clarified. "It is said that the protozoan is continually evolving, and that one day it will become a human hero."

"Precisely," Kvar nodded. "The very nature of this creature's evolution intrigued Lord Yggdrasill, so he placed upon it the Navitus Crystal—which, at that time, was nothing more than an ordinary Exsphere. The protozoan's human companion knew nothing of it, of course. The protozoan and the Crystal were lost on the night host body A012 lost her life, along with the Angelus Project."

"You killed…!" Lloyd barely managed to gag out the first two words past the rope cutting into his neck. Raine's feet began to slide along the metal flooring, unable to fight against the sheer muscle of the wolf she was restraining.

"Now, now, don't blame me," Kvar's smirk widened. "I'm not the one who killed Anna. The brat's father did."

That stopped Lloyd cold. Raine nearly collapsed onto her back when the leash she was pulling suddenly went slack. Lloyd simply stood, staring at the gray-skinned half-elf before him, his mouth working, though no sound emerged.

"_For all I know, my dad was the one who pushed my mom off the cliff."_

"_I didn't exactly peg him as the fatherly type."_

"_What would you do if your father had… killed your mother?"_

"_She fell off a cliff near here—I found her bleeding to death in the woods. She was frantic, clawing at the ground and looking for her son. Said he'd fallen with her…"_

"_He had to have abandoned me for some reason."_

"_That sourpuss in the corner? I don't like him."_

"_Perhaps he thought you had died in the fall alongside your mother."_

"Liar…" Lloyd finally managed, his voice as sharp and as thin as razor wire. "You're lying…"

"Please," Kvar snorted. "The truth is amusing enough as it is. After all, it's not often that a love story ends with 'and then the prince stabbed the princess and shoved her off a cliff'." The snort turned into a chuckle. "Pathetic, don't you think?"

"…Do not speak ill of the dead," Kratos choked out, alternately glaring bloody death at Kvar and staring concernedly at Lloyd.

Though, of course, he didn't know it was Lloyd, the wolf thought savagely. All he saw was Svafnir, Lloyd's pet dog. He didn't see his son. He was probably worried that 'Svafnir' was going to somehow tell Lloyd that his secret was out. That he had been the one to kill Anna… That, more than likely, he'd never planned on coming back for him…

"Hahaha!" Kvar was laughing outright now. "Who cares? They were both just a couple of filthy humans—worthless maggots."

"Don't…" Lloyd began, his glazed look slowly sharpening into the most loathing expression he'd ever directed at a person. His growl rose to a howl, the vowels almost comically elongated as he screamed at the top of his lungs, "_DON'T YOU DARE TALK ABOUT THEM LIKE THAT, YOU MONSTER_!" Raine was no longer holding him back. The wolf sprang.

~ ~ ~~ ~ ~

"Lloyd Svafnir! Lloyd! Get a hold of yourself!"

There was something holding him down, he thought. Maybe he was wrong. He couldn't feel anything—_all numb, nothing left, don't want to feel, so so numb_—couldn't see anything either. Were his eyes shut? Maybe. Maybe not. It was hard to tell with all the blood in the way. Blood that soaked everything, blood that ran in rivers from his mouth, blood that soaked into his fur, blood that poured like a foaming fountain from a woman's broken body.

Where was it all coming from? Was her neck broken? Was it a sword wound? It didn't matter. It wasn't a woman anyway, it was just a giant, white maggot worming its way through the blood. There were bite marks on the sides. His?

No, couldn't be his. He was a tiny child, squirming through the deluge towards the maggot. Crying, crying, blood pouring down his face. Crawling over bits of blue and white glass that cut him with sharp edges. Couldn't feel it. Couldn't stop crying.

"Lloyd, Lloyd," someone was whispering. "Come back. Stop fighting, Lloyd. You're safe now."

He wasn't safe. Couldn't be. The maggot was a monster, sweeping aside the piles of blue and white glass to get to him. Blood pouring from its cracked skin, the orb in its face glinting. So much blood, so much blood…

"Lloyd Svafnir! Come on!" the monster gurgled. Its voice reverberated, repeating again and again until the words were all jumbled together. Llafnir. Svoyd. Clloyd, afon. Nome vafllo, nirc.

There were more words. Babbling, babbling like the streams of blood. Couldn't be blood. Too much of it. Red water. Tears? Red tears. Oceans of red tears from red eyes that couldn't cry. Only brown eyes could do that…

"Svafnir! Please stop it, Vaf! Stop it!"

Vaf.

The oceans of blood went stagnant. The babbling stopped. The monster fell silent, and all the world held its breath.

"Come back, Vaf!"

Hiding in the trees. Hush, hush, they'll hear you. Hiding from the stones, and the people throwing them. A crying voice. Mud on yellow fabric. Crashing through the trees. Calling, frantic.

"_Come back, Vaf!"_

_Chocolat?_

Red eyes slowly cracked open. There was a moment of silence, and then an upswing in the sobbing voice. It was coming from nearby, though all Lloyd could see was brown and yellow. Not mud on a yellow dress, like he had thought. Dirt and fire through colorblind eyes. And the sobbing wasn't female. A glance told all.

Genis clung to Lloyd's side with fistfuls of fur, sobbing fitfully into the animal's flank. Farther back, Raine and Kratos were speaking quietly by the remnants of a campfire while Colette looked on concernedly. Even beyond them was an unfamiliar sight that Lloyd recognized all the same. Ruined Luin.

"…Genis…?" the wolf croaked. Genis jolted backwards so fast that he fell on his backside in the dirt. The half-elf simply stared at the groggy wolf for a few seconds before lunging forward to wrap his arms around his neck in a crushing embrace.

"Svafnir! I was so worried!" the boy pulled back to slap Lloyd's shoulder angrily, his tears coming afresh. "Stop doing this every time we invade a ranch, damn it!"

"Sorry," Lloyd mumbled bemusedly, wondering how many ranches exactly Genis was planning on invading in the future. "What did I do?"

"You don't remember?" Genis blinked.

"I remember blood," Lloyd whispered. "Too much."

"Genis," a voice from Lloyd's other side spoke up, "why don't you go talk to Colette for a while? I'll explain it to him."

"But I…!" Genis began.

"It's okay, Genis," Lloyd offered a small smile. "Sheena will tell me everything. Don't worry about me."

"But…!" the half-elf jumped to his feet angrily. A glance between Lloyd's and Sheena's faces seemed to take the fight out of him. He slumped. "Yeah, okay," he muttered, shuffling back towards the others. Lloyd watched him go regretfully before rolling over to face Sheena.

"Okay, so what did I do this time? And when did you get here?"

"I was following you guys the whole time," Sheena admitted, stroking Lloyd's fur gently. "When Kvar cornered you, I was about to step in… but then you began talking, so I listened in. I heard… about your parents."

"Oh," Lloyd glanced at Kratos for a split second before looking back at Sheena's sympathetic amber eyes. "Go on."

"Well, you kind of flipped out after he called them maggots," she recalled. "I just barely managed to get there before the Desians hacked you apart. I Summoned the Guardian my grandpa gave to me, and it teleported us away. Before that, though… Kratos knocked you silly with his sword's pommel because you… were kind of going after him."

"Oh no," Lloyd shut his eyes, wondering if he wanted to hear anything else. "I didn't… hurt him… did I…?"

"I don't think so," Sheena said, to Lloyd's immense relief. "Just bit him on the arm, I think. Nothing serious. Luckily, you weren't exactly coherent by that point, so you didn't accidentally give yourself away by saying anything, either. Anyway, we landed just outside Luin, so I carried you back here, semi-conscious. I called your name a lot, but I could only remember two of them… Then, when we got here, Genis started going crazy hysterical and shouting, and then you woke up."

"How long's it been since…?"

"Not long," Sheena pointed towards the sky. "The sun's just setting now, see?"

"I see." Lloyd climbed to his paws, feeling as drained as if he'd swum for miles in thick syrup.

"Lloyd, what Kvar said about your dad, about Kratos…"

"It's true," Lloyd couldn't even bring himself to sound angry, or even all that upset. "He as much as admitted it to me in Triet, but I wasn't paying attention to the signs… I didn't even think to wonder why he didn't tell Genis and Raine and Colette that I was his son. I'm such an idiot…!"

"Lloyd," Sheena put a calming hand on his back. It was a shame he couldn't feel it, because he was in desperate need of some calmness. "You have to talk to him. As a human."

"But my wings…"

"Forget the wings. He'd learn about them eventually anyway. You just need to talk to him," she advised. "Tonight."

"…Al-Alright…" he nodded shakily. Then, in a whisper that was almost inaudible, "…What if… he really did…?"

"Talk," Sheena repeated, shoving him slightly towards the campfire. "Get all the facts. And then tell them to me. And if there's not a damn good reason…" Sheena took a deep breath through her nose, her face stony. "I'll kill him myself."

"Don't," Lloyd all but begged, looking like a beaten puppy. Sheena melted. "Don't…"

"Fine," she grated. "I'll just give him the ass-whupping of a lifetime. _Nobody_ screws with my friends."

"Thank you, Sheena," Lloyd laughed a little despite it all. Or maybe because of it all. He shook his head once and padded slowly towards the campsite. Raine and Kratos fell silent at his approach. The redheaded mercenary took a few hasty steps forward, his hand on his sword. Lloyd curled his lip slightly, but supposed it was a sensible reaction. After all, for all he knew, 'Svafnir' was still pissed off and out for his blood.

"Kratos," Lloyd came to a stop a few yards away, lifting his head to look the mercenary squarely in the face. Raine and the others were still a ways away, and Lloyd pitched his voice lowly, but intensely, so that none but Kratos could hear him. "You have someone you need to talk with."

A barely perceptible wince. "I know."

"Meet him by the river tonight at midnight," Lloyd turned away, his message delivered. Kratos lifted a hand as if to stop him.

"Wait! How…?"

"Don't worry. He'll be there." Lloyd continued to walk away. Kratos watched his tailless back for a few seconds before turning back to a curious Raine. Lloyd continued onwards, past Sheena and into the ruins of the city, not stopping until he was at the scene of his latest failure. He stared down at the scuffed leaves of the bush before curling up beneath it. For once, he barely felt the pain of his transformation—the only sensation that had remained with him even after his skin had lost all tactile sense. It was insignificant in the face of his own heart's agony.

His heart. It had been made of tough stuff, once—smooth marble. Slippery, untouchable. Only one crack had marred the surface: longing for a family. Marble, Cacao, and Chocolat had filled that crack for a while. But they had only painted over it. Someone had found it and wedged a chisel into it, giving a single, hard tap with Marble's death. But that was okay. He could handle one crack, no matter how large. Once he'd found Kratos, the crack seemed to have disappeared. But Palmacosta, Dorr, Chocolat, the loss of his remaining humanity, Luin, and the children had all had their own turns battering against Lloyd's heart. What was once smooth marble had become just a hollow shell, riddled with cracks and pitted with craters. It was holding on by just one, single shard of marble.

And tonight, he would see if Kratos would be that shard… or if he was going to finally grind Lloyd's heart into dust beneath his feet.


	16. Reconciled

**Kitty: I cannot write baby-talk for **_**crap**_**. You'll understand that comment in just a little while. Anyway, I forgot to mention this in the A/N of the last chapter: the Navitus Crystal. 'Navitus' is bastardized Latin for 'Energy' (bastardized, here having the meaning of 'switched the final syllable to 'us' instead of 'as' to make it sound more like Angelus). So Noishe's/Lloyd's Exsphere is really the Energy Crystal, because it was created to absorb the energy given off by the protozoan's evolution in the hopes that it could then be used to transform **_**people**_**. Unbeknownst to Mithos... it was a huge success. ^^**

**Zelos: I didn't think you'd reveal that this early. We haven't even gotten to Tethe'alla yet.**

**Kitty: Well, there's more to the story. I just restated what we've already learned and explained where that freaky-weird name came from. Anway, here's The Talk everyone's been waiting for.**

**Genis: I swear to Martel, Zelos, if you crack ONE 'the talk' joke...**

**Zelos: What? I was just going to say YearOfTheKitty does not own Tales of Symphonia.**

**Genis: Well that's a rele--**

**Zelos: ...And that it's nice to know that our little illiterate Lloydie will finally be getting an education on the things that MATTER.**

**Kitty: ^^" Enjoy!**

~ ~ ~~ ~ ~

**Chapter Sixteen**

**Reconciled**

"_Fallen angel, tell me why;_

_What is the reason, the thorn in your eye?"_

—_Within Temptation, 'Angels'_

Kratos deliberately stepped on a twig, knowing that the crack would alert anyone nearby of his presence. He could have moved silently, but he didn't think that sneaking up on Lloyd and scaring the daylights out of him would have been the best start to this particular discussion. Though how in the world that wolf could have gotten Lloyd all the way here from Palmacosta in the space of a single evening was beyond him.

The wolf's directions had been even vaguer. 'By the river' was a very general place. Kratos made an educated guess and made for the copse of underbrush in which Svafnir had apparently hidden a group of Luinian children. A ghost of a scowl passed over his face at that thought. He had sympathy for those children, and for Svafnir. He knew exactly how terrible it was to know that you'd failed to protect something important to you…

Speaking of which… Kratos looked around at the colorful trees surrounding him with a frown. He could sense his son's enormous mana signature—it seemed that, somehow, incredibly, the wolf really had done it—but he couldn't pinpoint exactly where it was coming from. Why couldn't he hear the boy moving or breathing? Humans always made far more unconscious noise than they realized.

"Lloyd?" he called out softly. For a moment, a soft night breeze was his only answer. Then…

"I'm here." Kratos's head tipped backwards, his frown even more pronounced now. The voice had come from the trees. Why was Lloyd up there? Kratos's hand crept towards his sword—was there danger around?—before falling limply to his side as he realized the sad truth. There was danger around. Lloyd thought he had killed Anna in cold blood.

Lloyd was scared of him.

"_I'm coming to get you, Lloyd…"_

~ ~ ~~ ~ ~

"…_You can't hide from me!"_

"…_hehehe…"_

"_Ah-ha! There you are!"_

"_Eek! Daddy! Hahaha! Stop it! How you fin' me?"_

"_You giggled. That's no way to hide, Lloyd."_

"_Aww… Daddy always fin's me…"_

"_And I always will. Now come on, it's bathtime."_

"_No! Don' want to!"_

"_Ack! What the…? Lloyd! Get back here!"_

"_No!"_

"_Where did he…? Blast it, now I have to find him again…"_

~ ~ ~~ ~ ~

"…_Next time, he won't be getting away."_

"…You don't have to hide," Kratos told the air, trying desperately to keep the pain out of his voice. Martel, why did he have to remember that now, of all times? He'd spent the last fourteen years systematically attempting to forget every happy memory he'd ever had with Anna and Lloyd…

"If I come out…" The voice pulled him from his thoughts in an instant. (Did Lloyd even realize the power he held over the man who was arguably the second most powerful being in either world? Third most powerful now...) "…You have to promise me something."

"What is it?"

"…Just don't freak out, okay?" Kratos barely had time to blink at the strange request before a patch of leave rustled, drawing his eyes as surely as a magnet. A darkened silhouette, outlined with moonlight-white, edged out onto a branch several feet above Kratos's head. The moonlight was ample enough illumination for Kratos to make out every crease in the boy's ratty clothes, every smear of dirt across his face, every feather on his great wings…

Kratos stopped breathing.

"…Kr—? Dad…?" Lloyd asked tentatively. Kratos sucked in a shallow breath, but it wasn't nearly enough to reply.

His son… had wings. Any normal father would be freaking out. And, really, Kratos was. But for different reasons than most people would assume.

"Your wings…" he managed to choke out. _Have feathers_, he wanted to add. They shouldn't have had feathers. That wasn't right. Even with the genetic dilution that came from being Anna's son, his mana shouldn't have thinned to the point where his wings became physical. Kratos could feel Lloyd's mana all around him, could taste it seeping into every pore of his body. It was thick, vital, strong. It was more than enough to manifest into mana-wings. Why was it just hanging there uselessly while his son spread out his extra limbs for balance on the thin branch?

"Y-Yeah, I know," Lloyd inched backwards a bit, severely unencouraged by Kratos's tone, and the way he was staring. "I mean… I'll understand if you want me to leave, I know it's kind of…"

"No, no," Kratos took in a much deeper breath this time, his desire to keep Lloyd from running away from him winning out over his shock. "It's alright. You… surprised me. That is all."

"Are you sure?" Lloyd drifted out once more.

"I am," Kratos was firm. "Come down so we can talk."

"…Alright." Lloyd slipped off the branch, his wings hooding slightly to slow his descent somewhat. He hit the ground hard nevertheless. Kratos watched as the feathered appendages curled up closely to Lloyd's back, practically flattening themselves along his spine. He felt a flash of unreasonable anger. _Why aren't you disappearing?_

"How long have you had them?" Kratos had to ask. Lloyd looked down and fidgeted.

"The night Colette broke the Seal of Wind," he admitted. Kratos nodded. Nothing could surprise him by this point.

"So Svafnir's disappearance was not the work of a monster."

"No," Lloyd winced slightly. "But Sheena really did help… us. She knows. She helped me learn to fly."

"She can't fly," Kratos half-asked.

"No. But she shouted from cliffs and stuff," Lloyd shuffled his feet. He gained some resolve, finally looking Kratos in the face and glaring slightly. "Look, none of that is important right now. I just have one thing to ask you." He didn't even pause for breath before plunging right in. "Did you kill my mom?"

"…Lloyd, I…"

"Did you kill Anna Irving?!" Lloyd's voice rose to a near-shout. Kratos flinched back. This time he was the one to drop his gaze.

"…I did."

"I see," Lloyd expelled a tremendous sigh. With a single motion, he spun on his heel and began to walk away. "That was all I needed to know."

"Lloyd, wait," Kratos stepped forward and clamped his hand down on Lloyd's shoulder. The boy stopped but didn't turn. Waiting.

"I did kill Anna," the Seraph said. "But it wasn't in cold blood."

"Go on." Lloyd's voice was sharp.

"…We met in the Asgard Human Ranch," he began. "Noishe, the protozoan, was my pet at the time. Kvar spoke truly when he said that I had no knowledge of this Navitus Crystal on Noishe… In any case, she and I ran away together, along with him. We were on the run for several years. And in that time, you were born.

"But when you were three years old, they caught up to us. Kvar caught Anna while I was defending you, and he…" Kratos stopped, swallowed. "He took her Keycrest-less Exsphere off."

"Marble…" Lloyd breathed. "Clara…"

"She became an Exbelua, a monster," Kratos squeezed his eyes shut, maintaining his grip on Lloyd as if his son were his only anchor to reality. "She… came at you. Noishe got in the way. You both went over the cliff. Then I came… She… regained herself for a moment. She asked me… to kill her.

"I did."

The words hovered around the two figures among the trees for an eternity of three minutes. Both were breathing harshly, as if they had each run a mile for every word spoken. Lloyd tipped his head back to look up. For the first time in his life, he found no comfort at all in the stars. Too many dark shapes—_leaves, they're leaves, just leaves_—blotted out too many of the bright spots. The velvet between the pinpoints suddenly seemed sinister, looming above them like a monster crouched where its oblivious prey would never think to look. Waiting to swoop down and eat them all up. To snatch up Lloyd in star-bright claws and crunch his bones with moon-white teeth.

"What next?" Lloyd finally turned, just a bit, just his head, towards Kratos. The Seraph saw the curve of his son's forehead, highlighted by the moon's light, dabbing just a single point of brilliance in the dark pit of his eye. Lloyd looked at Kratos with two white stars where his eyes should have been. Still waiting.

Kratos wasn't going to keep him waiting anymore. "I looked. For hours and hours. It was dark. I couldn't find anything. Not you, not Anna, not Noishe. After a long time, I found a patch of blood on the rocks. And… your shoe. That was all. I thought wolves had gotten you."

"I was three…" Lloyd furrowed his brow. "How did I get the… Crystal? Or Mom's Exsphere? And how did I get so far away that you couldn't find me?"

"I would like to know that myself," Kratos shook his head. "As well as how you ended up in Palmacosta on your own not long after."

"…I guess…" Lloyd finally turned to face Kratos fully. The movement ripped his father's hand away from his shoulder. He couldn't feel it anyway… "It's hard…" Lloyd looked down, obviously fighting back tears. "I just can't…" He looked up sharply, his face anguished. "I don't remember! I don't remember you, I don't remember Noishe, I don't remember Mom! All my life it's just been me and 'Svafnir'. Why…? Why does it hurt now…?"

"Lloyd…" Kratos stepped forward and seized his son's shoulders again, this time pulling the boy into a tight embrace. It was Lloyd's turn to stiffen slightly before hugging him in return. The tears that Kratos expected never came, to his surprise and slight relief. Lloyd sniffed once, harshly, and that was all.

Unfortunately, Lloyd seemed just as surprised about this as Kratos was.

"What…?" he pulled back, though Kratos refused to let go of his shoulders. A half-gloved hand came up to swipe at his eyes with dirty fingers, confused when they came away dry. "Why can't I…?"

"Angels don't cry," Kratos said sofly. Lloyd sniffed again, smiling humorlessly.

"I guess they don't." He took a few deep breaths, trying to calm his tearless hiccups.

"About that…" Kratos began. "How exactly…?"

"…Did I get them?" Lloyd finished. He flapped his wings in a kind of avian shrug, glancing quickly over his shoulder. "Mom's Angelus Project. I think it's a Cruxis Crystal, somehow. Ever since I put it on, I've been changing. Though my changes don't seem to match up with Colette's, since she got wings first and I didn't get mine till the Wind Seal… And even then, I can't put mine away like she can."

There were a few beats of silence during which Kratos attempted to process every implication of his son's sudden spew of words. Was it a good thing or a bad thing that Lloyd's transformation appeared to have less to do with genetics than it had to do with an unfortunate choice in Exspheres? It didn't change his bone-deep guilt for screwing with his child's life this way, though it did add and extra spurt of hatred towards Kvar. Not that he'd needed any extra motivation for that…

Then, of course, there was the fact that Lloyd seemed rather… _intimately_ familiar with Colette's angel transformation. Surely Svafnir hadn't felt the need to inform Lloyd of every step of the process and when it had occurred when they'd met briefly in Palmacosta, had he? No. In which case, Lloyd had gotten his information from somewhere else.

Somewhere like the actual source.

"You've been following us," Kratos stated without inflection. Lloyd jumped, startled.

"Um! Um…" he shifted uncomfortably, his wings ruffling. "Yeah. Kind of."

"Why?" the mercenary dropped his hands from his son's shoulders, honestly bewildered. "I told you to wait for me. Did you not believe me?"

"I did," Lloyd said, then winced at the past tense. "I mean, I do believe you." He decided not to mention the doubt he'd felt in the ranch. It was water under the bridge now. "The thing is… I can't exactly… help it."

Kratos's voice was calm when he next spoke. "What does that mean?"

"N-Nothing! It's just..." Lloyd, going back to the days when he had simply opened his mouth and trusted it to provide a believable story, didn't think before his next statement. "...I travel. It's what I do. It's what I've been doing my whole life. I can't just sit in some village and mooch off someone for a year until you come back. I can't impose on Cacao anymore. This way, I can travel around, and I can make sure that we meet up when you're done."

"But why would you do it secretly?" Kratos demanded with a dash of parental indignation, coupled with an internal wince. He didn't even want to think about what might have happened had Lloyd really followed them in secret all the way until the end of the journey. He wouldn't be so eager to meet up _then_.

"The wings," Lloyd shrugged. "The sleeplessness. The numbness. The angelic... ness. People hated me when I was human. I'm not really an angel. I'm just some kid pretending to be one. That's even worse than being a thief."

"...Your friends would not hate you," Kratos guessed neutrally. Lloyd snorted, and Kratos had to admit that that noise accurately summed it up. Raine was already suspicious of both Svafnir and Lloyd, Genis wasn't entirely sure Lloyd was his friend anymore, and Colette had exchanged a total of about seven sentences with him. Lloyd told him as much. Kratos hesitated a moment before saying, "..._I_ don't hate you."

"Thanks," Lloyd grinned happily. "That's all I need."

"And what do you plan to do next? I cannot allow you to continue shadowing us. It is a miracle you survived as long as you have without a weapon or Svafnir to protect you," the man stated.

"I guess..." Lloyd looked away. "How about this, then? On the day of the spring equinox, we'll meet each other in Hima. Until then, I'll do what I've always done, and you can do what you have to. Deal?"

"It most certainly is not," Kratos snapped. Lloyd jerked, surprised.

"Wh-Why not?!"

"You really do have a very poor opinion of me if you think I will allow you to wander around unarmed in the wilderness, hunted by Desians and monsters alike," Kratos folded his arms and glared. Lloyd wilted slightly before gathering himself, glaring right back. Maybe _this_ was why most teenagers hated their parents...

"I'll be _fine_," Lloyd growled, folding his own arms. To anyone watching, the two Aurions were nearly mirror images of one another, with the exception of their clothes, wings, and the fact that Lloyd was a good head shorter than his father. "I know how to take care of myself."

"You say that," the Seraph snapped, "but I have yet to see any evidence of it. Every time I see you, you are in one form of distress or another. Never _fine_."

"Well, it doesn't matter what you think," Lloyd smirked, a thought striking him. "Because if you don't see me... you can't stop me. And you _definitely_ can't catch me." Before Kratos had time to do more than open his mouth, Lloyd leaped backwards, his wings flapping powerfully. He rose up to the level of the branch that he had begun their conversation on, using the limb as a springboard to launch himself into the air.

"_Lloyd_!" Kratos shouted after him, furious. "Get down here!"

"See you in the spring!" was all Lloyd called back. His silhouetted grew smaller and smaller against the stars before he was lost in the darkness, even to the older angel's eyes. Kratos sighed heavily and kneaded his temples with his knuckles. Maybe _this_ was why most parents hated raising teenagers... He debated letting out his own wings to go after him. Sure, it would give away his secret much earlier than he would have liked, but Lloyd didn't know that the angels were the 'bad guys' yet. And was his secret more important than his son's safety? Of course not.

On the other hand... Despite all odds, Lloyd _had_ survived on his own in the wilderness for fourteen years before Kratos found him. Not to mention the fact that he had somehow managed to make his way from Iselia to Palmacosta—through monster-infested lands and across an ocean—as a defenseless toddler. Lloyd had a borderline-supernatural capacity for survival.

Kratos dropped his hands and blew a sigh. It was no use. He couldn't leave the Chosen on her own. If something happened while he was gone, Yggdrasill would hear about it, and Lloyd's continued survival would come out. It would be all too easy to find the boy as he wandered obliviously across Sylvarant and kidnap him back to Welgaia. There was no way they'd leave him alone now that he was an angel, and especially not if it meant gaining any kind of leverage over Kratos. In addition to all of that, there were the Renegades to consider. They _knew_ the Renegades had a spy in Cruxis, they just didn't know who. If _Yggdrasill_ found out about Lloyd, the Renegades would, too. And for all their purported nobility, they had even fewer scruples about the means to their ends than Yggdrasill did.

Lloyd would be fine. He had to be. He was smart enough not to get himself into anything like the business in Palmacosta again... wasn't he? Once bitten, twice shy, as the saying went. He would be _fine_.

Kratos repeated that phrase to himself—occasionally interspersed with thoughts such as 'I'm such a coward' and 'his wings had feathers...?'—the entire walk back to the Luin campsite. He repeated it to himself all night as he lay still and silent in his bedroll, pretending to sleep while Raine kept watch (the rune crest on his Crystal meant that he was not plagued by the insomnia that afflicted the Chosen and his son, but like hell he was getting to sleep _now_). He repeated it to himself as Svafnir returned as dawn was breaking, and as the rest of the company began to stir.

He was still repeating it when Svafnir offered him a weak, doggish smile and an almost sheepish, "Good morning. Don't worry about Lloyd, okay? He'll be fine."

Kratos began to hate the word 'fine'.

~ ~ ~~ ~ ~

Lloyd was pleased as punch when he trotted into camp at dawn. He could practically feel the ghost of his tail held up high behind him like a flag of victory. Not only had he gotten one up on his father, but he hadn't even had to explain where 'Svafnir' had disappeared to. His faith in his father was restored, and all was right with the world.

His enthusiasm dimmed slightly at the look on Kratos's face when he arose from his slumber. He shook his head sharply, dismissing it. He felt guilty for making his dad worry, but it would all be set right when they 'met up' in Hima. This guilt was an acceptable trade-off for outing his secret. And Kratos had taken the wings much better than he had expected... Even so, he assured the mercenary of his own well-being, hoping that maybe it would sound more believable from 'Svafnir' than from 'Lloyd'.

He was relieved when Sheena sat up moments later. He sat by her side with a quiet 'good morning', which she reciprocated. They sat in silence for a few moments before Sheena spoke.

"So how did it go last night?"

"Okay. He didn't flip out about the wings, and you don't have to give him 'the ass-whupping of a lifetime', either. It was all a misunderstanding. Extenuating circumstances. ...Assisted suicide."

"What?!" Sheena yelped. She clapped a hand over her mouth a moment later, both girl and wolf casting a glance over at the silent mercenary. He didn't seem to have noticed.

"She was like Clara," Lloyd clarified. "And, like Marble, she asked to die. So he killed her. It's not okay, but... it's better than I'd hoped."

"And the," Sheena lowered her voice until even Lloyd had trouble making it out, "other secret?"

"Still safe," he assured her. Two red eyes and two amber ones traveled down to the sparkling Crystal on Lloyd's paw, gazing at it thoughtfully.

"I think I get why it does what it does now," Sheena whispered. "It was on that protozoan for a few thousand years, right? All that time, it was absorbing the transformative energy given off by its host, storing it up. The protozoan must have been a wolf at the time, because when you use it, it releases its stored-up power into you and transforms you into a wolf."

"I guess," Lloyd shrugged. "It makes more sense than anything else I've been able to come up with. So much power in such a little thing..."

"I..." Sheena's eyes darkened, "I can't believe they're made from human lives..."

"I can believe it." Lloyd started, surprised to find that Genis had woken while they were talking, and apparently overheard Sheena's quiet statement. (A quick glance showed Colette and Raine also awake and beginning to break camp.) The half-elf boy brought up his right hand to regard it solemnly, his bottom lip quivering. "This... is Marble's life..."

Lloyd shut his eyes, a stark contrast to Genis and Sheena, who couldn't seem to take their eyes off of the Exspheres. He couldn't look. It... disgusted him. Like he'd said to Kvar, no matter how much he hated humans, using them like that was _sick_. It revolted him to know that stuck to his chest was the stolen life force of his own mother... And on his paw was the first animal in all of creation, the life of a future hero stolen away from the people it was supposed to save...

"Genis!" Colette's exclamation had Lloyd's eyes flying open. The blonde girl had her hands wrapped around her friend's arm, halting him in the action of reaching for his Exsphere to rip it off. "What will you accomplish by taking that off? It's Marble's life! You can't just throw it away like trash."

"But..." Genis turned wide, indecisive eyes on her. "But what am I supposed to do?! I can't just... just _use_ someone that way. If I don't take it off, how am I any better than a Desian?"

"Genis!" Raine broke in sharply. "Don't say that! We're nothing like them. Don't forget that."

"But this thing..." Genis lowered his head under the weight of her rebuke. "Marble died for this..."

"If you take it off, you will not be able to complete this journey," Kratos spoke without looking at any of them. His eyes were on the sky, his tone placid. "Those people may not have asked to become victims, but throwing away their lives does nothing but dishonor their memories. They would have wanted to help Colette finish her journey and prevent the Desians from consigning others to their fate. After the journey, if you still feel this way... then you can throw them away."

"Svafnir," Genis turned pleadingly to the silent animal. "You can't agree with them! What about the protozoan, and Lloyd's mother?"

"...I've hated this Exsphere for my entire life," Lloyd answered tiredly. He wondered if it was possible for an angel to fall asleep of mental exhaustion. Maybe he would pass out again. "I've always hated it for making me different. But if I took it off, I would die. I don't know how to live without it. If I took it off, I would change back... So no matter how wrong, how selfish it is, I have to keep using it." He laughed a little at Genis's stricken expression. "I'm a thief, Genis. I've only survived this long off of others' unwillng sacrifices anyway. At least with this, I'm making sure they didn't die in vain. I _do_ agree with Raine and… Kratos. Throwing your Expshere, throwing Marble, away wouldn't do any good now. If you still feel guilty, then use the strength she gives you to save her granddaughter from the same fate."

"...Nngh," Genis looked down, clenching his hands. When he spoke next, it was in a small voice. "...Fine. I'll... I'll save Chocolat for her. I'll do my best to fight for Marble's memory."

"Me too," Colette nodded firmly. "I'm going to regenerate the world as quickly as I can."

"I don't like the idea of life surviving at the cost of another, even if that's how nature works," Sheena put in, shaking her head. "But there's no way to justify deliberately stealing away that life for your own purposes. The Desians have to be stopped." She looked between Colette, Raine, and Kratos, apparantly unsure who to direct her next statement to. She settled for speaking to the group at large. "Will you take me along with you? Now that I know, I... I can't pretend like nothing happened. This is too cruel!"

"Of course you're welcome to join us!" Colette immediately said, not even pausing to think. Her face was wreathed in smiles, joy rolling off of her in tangible waves. Lloyd rolled his eyes fondly. What other response had Sheena expected? Colette had been trying to befriend her ever since she'd first attempted to kill the blonde angel.

"You saved my life," he told her. "Don't you know? You're responsible for me forever, now. You _have_ to come along." Sheena pulled a face at him, her expression not quite managing to hold back her giggle at his teasing.

"If Svafnir trusts you, so do I," Genis added his support. "Let's fight the Desians together!"

"Do as you wish," Raine turned away from the whole scene and began to pack away her things. "I'll trust you for now."

A relieved smile bloomed across Sheena's face, lighting up her whole demeanor. "Thank you all. I won't let you down."

"Now that that's decided, we have another problem to overcome," Kratos began in a businesslike tone. "Kvar will have undoubtedly increased security after yesterday's events. It will not be easy to get in."

"There was someone who escaped from the ranch, you said," Raine recalled, turning to Sheena. "He may know another way in."

"Yeah, I know him. His name is Pietro," Sheena nodded. "He left for Hima last night. He has family up there. If we followed him there..."

"Why do we need to?" Lloyd broke in. "We know there's an escape route. What do we need to talk to him for?"

"The route will be _concealed_, Svafnir," Raine explained with exaggerated patience. "We will not be able to simply track it down."

There was a beat of silence. Lloyd looked down at himself and then back up at Raine, mustering the most skeptical expression he could formulate on a muzzle. Genis cracked up, stifling his sniggers behind his hands. Sheena climbed to her feet, heading out in the direction of the house they had stayed in the night before last.

"I'll go see if anything of Pietro's survived for you to get the scent," she called over her shoulder. "I'll be right back!"

"How will you know where to start from?" Raine demanded in an attempt to salvage some of her dignity. She glared her brother into submission before turning her icicle-sharp eyes on Lloyd.

"I'll start on the road," he shrugged. "If it's within two miles, I'll be able to smell it. There wasn't much wind yesterday. It's pretty recent, so even with all the smoke I should be able to pick it up." He noticed the strange looks everyone was giving him. "What? You people keep forgetting that I'm a _wolf_. This is what I do to _eat_."

"Well while Sheena's gone, do you think you could find _us_ something to eat?" Genis requested. "I don't want to make another all-vegetable soup for breakfast."

"Will do, captain!" Lloyd sprang to his paws in an attitude of attention. He ruined it by grinning before turning and pelting off in the direction of the river. There should be at least a few rabbits down there he could bring back...

The group reconvened a few hours later on the road leading out of Luin, having eaten and broken camp. Sheena had salvaged the fork Pietro had eaten dinner with the night he left (untouched by the fire, being metal, though covered with soot that she hadn't dared wipe off for fear of corrupting the scent) as well as a fragment of his bedsheets. Lloyd sniffed both carefully. It was hard to separate the smell of Pietro from the reek of smoke and charred fibers, but he was fairly confident that he could recognize it now.

Getting the scent, as it turned out, was the hard part. Once he was able to pick out 'Pietro' from the multitudes of smells that made up his surroundings, Lloyd found the trail—both in the air and on the road—without a problem. Genis took up his usual riding position (much to Sheena's amusement) and the group set out. Lloyd checked the trail only occasionally, knowing that even if he lost it here, he'd be able to pick it up without any difficulty once they reached the ranch. Again.

Pietro's scent led them right up the road towards the ranch, much to everyone's puzzlement. For a while, it seemed as if the man had simply walked out the front door uncontested, for all that his trail was rank with the smell of fear. The wolf in Lloyd growled in satisfaction at this smell. When tracking prey, the smell of fear meant that a kill was all but assured. Since he had already eaten a nice pheasant coupled with a few late berries, however, Lloyd was easily able to push aside the influence of his instincts. There was no prey at the end of this trail, anyway.

Instead, there was a rock. He blinked at the boulder for a few seconds, stymied, before turning back to his companions. They were all watching him expectantly.

"It ends here," he told them. "Well..." he amended, "it doesn't _end_. His scent is all over this rock, and it continues beyond it."

"Beyond...?" Raine repeated. "So there is a tunnel behind it?"

"Seems so," he replied, sniffing around the edges of the boulder. "Yep, there's definitely something back here." He set his shoulder to the boulder and braced his paws, shoving with all his might.

It didn't budge. Kratos, Colette, and Sheena applied their own efforts, but the boulder remained as solid... as a rock. Even all pushing together moved it not a single inch.

"I think Pietro must have sealed it somehow," Raine theorized, watching the rest of the group sweat and struggle. "I can sense a bit of magic coming from it..."

"You think?" Lloyd gasped sarcastically, thumping down onto his belly, his tongue rolling as he panted. Sheena collapsed beside him, equally winded. Kratos and Colette stood off to the side, both also apparently exhausted. At least one of them, Lloyd thought with a pitying glance in Colette's direction, was faking it.

"Can you negate it?" the man himself inquired. Raine shook her head.

"I'm just a healer. Genis, do you think you can counter it?" she turned to her brother.

"I don't know," Genis brought out his kendama, unsurely. "But I'll give it a shot."

Nearly an hour later, Genis was collapsed on the ground with Sheena and Lloyd, struggling for breath.

"I think... we need... to find another... way..." he gasped out. Raine bit her lip in thought.

"We cannot get past the boulder... But we need to reach the tunnel behind it..." she thought a bit more. "...Might we not dig from the top of the cliff through the roof of the tunnel beneath? Surely he did not seal the entire cliff. That would be difficult even for an elf."

"That's a great idea!" Sheena sat up, beaming at the professor. "I can't believe none of us thought of that. You're really smart."

"...Thank you," Raine accepted the compliment with a bit less than her usual unflappable grace. Lloyd looked between the two of them, a hint of understanding dawning slowly in the back of his mind.

…Well. That was certainly something to chew on.

In the end, it was mostly Lloyd and Colette who did the digging. None of them had anything resembling a shovel, so the blonde girl was forced to use a slab of flat rock as a makeshift digging tool. Her strength enabled her to wield it almost as effectively as a shovel in a normal human's hands, however. Lloyd gritted his fangs and tried to shut his ears to Genis's taunts—something about flowerbeds, or maybe bones—as he dug in with his front legs, scraping away at the earth and shoving it between his hind legs. The others watched as a medium-sized crater emerged in the ground. It was Colette who broke through first, losing her grip on her piece of stone as it unexpectedly plunged downwards along with a few clumps of earth. Lloyd undertook the task of crumbling away the edges to widen it so that it matched the rest of their hole, and it was done.

"Okay, the excavation team has hit paydirt," Lloyd told his friends, ignoring Sheena's snigger at the dirt that caked his fur. Or, trying to ignore it anyway. "And you didn't even have to fall into it this time," he added to her with faux enthusiasm. Genis cackled outright at that.

"You sure her chest will fit through?" he asked wickedly. Lloyd couldn't move fast enough to prevent the resounding smack that Raine administered to the back of her brother's head at that. He rubbed the spot ruefully, still smirking every now and then.

"Ignore him," the half-elf told the enraged brunette. Then, to her sibling, "You'll be the first one through."

"Fine, fine," the little mage rolled his eyes, walking towards the hole. Under his breath, he muttered, "Overreaction much?" All the same, he sat on the edge and slipped through the hole without difficulty. Lloyd jumped down after him, shortly followed by Colette and Raine. Sheena came next, without any difficulty. She shot a triumphant look at the boy, though he couldn't see it through the gloom. Kratos came through last, due to the slight worry that the hole wasn't wide enough to accommodate his shoulders. It was, if barely, and they were all soon within the subterranean passageway. Lloyd regarded the hole in the ceiling resignedly.

"We're going to have to plug that up later, aren't we?" he sighed.

"Not if we blow this ranch up like we did the others," Genis shrugged back. "And since that's all we're here to do... No. We won't."

"Good," Lloyd said. "My paws hurt."

"...I would offer you a bone," Genis snickered, "but I don't think I should reward you for digging up other peoples' lawns."

"Oh, I'll be gnawing on a bone alright!" Lloyd growled, jumping forward. "Yours!"

Genis whooped and took off down the passageway, after the retreating figures of their group. Lloyd growled playfully and gave chase. The pair blasted past the others despite their protests, leading the way through the darkness towards the Asgard Human Ranch.


	17. Teller of Secrets, Though Not His Own

**Kitty: Not much to say this time. I realize I haven't thanked my reviewers for quite a long time, so… Thank you all so much! You all inspire me to keep going! I love you all!**

**Genis: Unfortunately, YearOfTheKitty doesn't own Tales of Symphonia or any of its characters, so half of the work was already done for her. **

**Kitty: …Buzzkill.**

**Zelos: That's what **_**I**_** said. **

**Kitty: Enjoy!**

~ ~ ~~ ~ ~

**Chapter Seventeen**

**Teller of Secrets… Though Not His Own**

"_Hang me out to dry—I'm soaking with the sins of knowing_

_What's gone wrong, but, doing nothing, I still run."_

—_Rise Against, 'Life Less Frightening'_

"So, this is the mutt everyone's been talking about," the ghostly woman on the projector machine said. "I must say, Forcystus should get his remaining eye checked. It looks nothing like Lord Yggdrasill's protozoan."

Lloyd growled wordlessly and arched his back threateningly. To either side of him, Kratos and Genis tensed for a fight.

They had been forced to split up shortly upon entering the ranch. Colette, Raine, and Sheena had gone to free the Luinian prisoners while 'the men' went after Kvar. Lloyd would rather have had Sheena on his team, but Raine had been insistent that she be a part of the deactivation team, and Colette had acquiesced. In any case, Genis was ecstatic to be with them, so he didn't have the heart to protest the decision.

So, a few hours of sneaking and fighting later, there they were in Kvar's control room. The gray-skinned half-elf had been speaking with a transluscent, green woman on a kind of holo-communicator when they arrived. Both conversants' attention had turned to the trio—who had given up stealth by this point—as they entered.

"So you've come," Kvar noted absently, barely acknowledging their existence before returning to the woman. "I'd appreciate it if you wouldn't change the subject, Pronyma! It's clear you've been stealing research data from my Angelus Project for some time now, and now the Navitus Crystal, too."

"I grow tired of your accusations, Kvar," the woman snapped. "As I have told you, I know nothing of it."

"…Pronyma?" Lloyd's soft snarl broke into the conversation once more. He began to stalk forward, heedless of Genis's hissed protest. "You… You're the one that half-elf was serving. The one who killed Kilia and the Governor-General…"

"Hmm?" the woman, Pronyma, blinked a few times, blankly. "Oh, yes, I remember now. I sent one of my servants to inspect Magnius's ranch… You were the ones who killed her, were you not? It seems hypocritical of you to become angry at me for ordering the same."

"We didn't kill a child in cold blood!" Lloyd denied loudly.

"Do you not count my servant as a child because of her appearance?" Pronyma tilted her head to the side, affecting puzzlement. "You have an odd idea of justice, dog."

"I'm a _wolf_!" Lloyd snarled.

"I asked you not to change the subject, Pronyma!" Kvar interrupted, his posture that of a petulant child stamping his feet as his elders.

On the other side of the room, movement caught Lloyd's attention. He glanced at it from the corner of his eye, trying not to alert the Desians. It was the girls, the deactivation team, slipping in through another door. They stood silently on the other side of the room. One of Sheena's hands and one of Raine's were clamped on Colette's shoulders in an effort to keep her upright and unnoticed as long as possible.

"Shall we try a subject more pertinent to your interests, then?" Pronyma glared at the Grand Cardinal. "How about that scheme you and Rodyle are plotting together? I would love to know how you intend to keep it a secret from Lord Yggdrasill, especially now that the rumors have made their way all the way up to me."

"I wouldn't sound so superior, if I were you," Kvar said. "As soon as I retrieve my stolen experiments for Lord Yggdrasill, I will take your place as the leader of the Five Grand Cardinals. When that happens, you'll be begging for my forgiveness."

"We shall see," the woman replied noncommittally. Her image flickered once before disappearing altogether. Kvar growled inarticulately at the projector before whirling around to confront the intruders.

"So the Mana Cannon is no longer a secret. Well, it doesn't matter. Once I succeed in retrieving those Exspheres, any suspicions I might have been under will be a distant memory." He began to pace forward, glaring squintily at Lloyd. "So will you tell me where that inferior being you call a master is, or am I going to have to kill your companions one by one to loosen your tongue?"

"Those are some bold words for someone as outnumbered as you are," Kratos stated, his sword clearing its sheath with a threatening hiss. Lloyd took a moment to admire his control when facing down what was essentially his wife's murderer before he got too angry to really think anymore.

Across the room, Sheena was worried. She had no doubt Kvar would go down fairly easily—he _was_ facing six to one odds, after all. What had her worried, though, was the bristling wolf confronting him. Every time they came against a Desian Grand Cardinal, Genis had said, Lloyd lost control to his Crystal, attacking whatever he deemed a threat to his 'pack'. She didn't want to have to carry her unconscious friend's body out of here a second time, much less have to watch him try to kill his own father again without realizing it.

The ninja saw him brace his paws as if to spring when Kratos spoke. She saw the intelligent gleam in his claret eyes begin to dim as the wolf within clouded his mind. She saw the emergence of he who puts to rest from her usually-gentle friend.

So, logically, she had to stop it.

Quick, ringing footsteps sounded a staccato beat as Sheena ran forward, her cards at the ready. Colette stumbled after her a moment later, followed by Raine. Kvar, hearing the sudden noise, only had enough time to turn his head before the women were upon him.

The purple-clad girl was the first to reach him, flipping up into a spinning kick. Her foot rebounded off of something hard, and she skipped backwards. Kvar lowered his staff slightly, smirking. She gritted her teeth.

_He's got good reflexes. Even with six of us at once, this might be tough. Especially if he..._

The Desian Cardinal shouted something Sheena couldn't quite make out. Several bolts of lightning fell at his command, arcing towards all six team members. Two shouts from Kratos and Raine deflected the strikes harmlessly. Sheena grinned. If it was going to be a magic fight, she held the trump card. Literally.

"Corinne!" she summoned. The little fox flipped out of his smoke cloud and hit the half-elf full in the face, his little claws and fangs scratching and biting. Kvar plucked the furry nuisance off with one hand, flinging him away with a snarl on his bleeding countenance. Corinne vanished in midair. Kvar turned back, satisfied, just as Kratos's sword slashed across his sternum. The man grunted and lashed out with his staff. The two began to trade blows.

The others, meanwhile, had been engaged by a fleet of hovering metal spheres that spat blue electricity in all directions. Colette dispatched hers by slicing it in half with her chakrams, turning to help the bleaguered Raine fend off her own foe.

Lloyd watched his father and Kvar battle back and forth between spears of blue lightning with darkening eyes. He poured himself into a streak of brown and white fur, sinking his fangs into Kvar's ankle as deeply as he could. The Desian cried out in pain and aimed a quick glare at the canine, distracted momentarily from the fight. This turned out to be a bad idea when Kratos's sword carved a deep, weeping gash out of his side. The half-elf fell back, choking slightly. Lloyd took the opportunity to relinquish his grip on his ankle, giving it a yank to send the man crashing down onto his back. There was a hollow crack as his head hit the metal floor. Kvar did not move again, a slowly growing lake fed by the streams of his wounds appearing around him.

The last of the lightning drones were taken out by a combined effort of the now-free Kratos and Colette, as the only two with bladed weapons able to cut through their metal shell. Sheena went around behind them, grinding the pieces to scrap beneath her boots. She grinned harshly as she twisted her foot on the last pile of machinery, looking up only to find the brown wolf standing before her. His head was bowed until his nose nearly touched the floor, his flanks heaving sharply.

"Svafnir, are you okay?" Sheena dropped to her knees beside the canine. Lloyd shook his head once. When he looked back up at her, his eyes were bright and triumphant.

"Better than okay," he said. "I avenged her…"

"That's great," Sheena smiled. "And we found out where they've taken Chocolat, too!"

"Really?!" Lloyd's entire demeanor perked up, grinning widely. "That's…!"

"Vaf, _look out_!" Colette's sudden scream cut through the moment. Lloyd spun around in shock, his ears flat to his head. A wounded Kvar loomed over him, his staff raised and his bloody face manic.

"Die!" he hissed, bringing the weapon down.

There was a blur of white and yellow, and a high cry coupled with a thump. Colette collapsed on top of Lloyd, who wrinkled his nose as the scent of blood flooded his nasal passages. He took a few precious seconds to figure out that the Chosen had thrust herself in front of him, taking the blow meant for him. In that time, Sheena had already leaped to her feet furiously, and Kratos was halfway to them. Lloyd let them deal with the half-elf, gently lowering the girl atop him to the ground and shaking her off.

"Colette?" he whined, licking at her face. He didn't even spare a thought for how doglike he was acting. Colette was more important. "Come on, Colette, say something! Are you okay?"

"I…" the angel sat up halfway, coughing slightly. "I'm fine, really. Don't worry."

"You're not!" he snapped back, nosing around for wherever the blood smelled strongest. He found it in the form of a wound slashed across the girl's back, right between her shoulder blades. He shuddered slightly, realizing that if she hadn't moved when she had, Kvar would have taken his head off. But there was no time for that.

"Raine!" he barked. The healer knelt down beside her pupil, examining the wound clinically.

"It's okay," Colette tried to insist. "It doesn't even hurt!" She made as if to sit up entirely, but was pushed back down by Genis. In the background, Lloyd could hear his father saying something to Kvar. The blood-smell strengthened abruptly. Kvar was dead.

In moments, Sheena was a part of the group huddled around the fallen Chosen. There was blood splashed across the front of her purple tunic, but it wasn't hers.

"How can it not hurt?" Genis was asking, amazed and very worried.

"It must not be very serious," Colette said, a little desperate now. "It's not worth wasting magic on, really! I'll be fine!"

"Well…" Raine hesitated. "If it doesn't hurt…"

"No!" Lloyd spoke up suddenly. "Colette, I can't let you hurt yourself like this!" He turned to the others, who were staring at him in perplexity. "The reason it's not hurting her is because she can't feel it! She can't feel anything!"

"What?" Genis was astounded. His gaze flickered between the two of them. "What do you mean?"

"As she gets closer to becoming an angel, she's losing her humanity, one bit at a time," Lloyd said savagely. "Now she can't sleep or feel hot or cold or pain or anything. She can't even sweat or cry! She can't tell how bad the wound is. You have to heal her."

"A-Alright," Raine nodded. She cast Healing Wind, and in a moment Colette was unharmed once more, if with a giant tear down the back of her dress. The others were still staring alternately between the Chosen and the wolf, thunderstruck.

"…Colette, is that true?" Genis finally whispered. "Are you really…?" he couldn't finish.

"I am. But it's really okay," she told him smilingly. "Right now we need to do something about this ranch. Right, Professor?"

"That's right," the half-elf woman stood and turned towards the controls. "I'll destroy this one like I did to the one in Palmacosta."

"Isn't that a little extreme?" Sheena raised one eyebrow.

"Perhaps," Raine conceded. Then, with a slight smile, "But it is extremely satisfying nevertheless."

"I'll bet," the ninja laughed, looking a little surprised to find herself doing so. Or maybe it was the surprise of Raine making a joke… Whatever it was, she followed the older woman to the controls, eager to see how it was done. Genis, Kratos, Lloyd, and Colette, meanwhile, began making their way towards the door, eager not to be around when the ranch blew sky high. Nobody noticed the blonde angel's preoccupation, or her soft murmur as they left.

"But… I never told anyone…"

~ ~ ~~ ~ ~

Lloyd was very, _very_ nervous. He hadn't been so on-edge since he had returned to Palmacosta for the first time in years in the company of Colette's regeneration group. With every step, he expected somebody to leap out and shout 'there's the angel!'

They had returned to Asgard.

It was decided that Colette would be better able to rest in a real town rather than the ruins of Luin, so it was to Asgard they went. Several townspeople seemed to recognize Sheena, if the sudden outbreak of whispers once they'd passed were any indication. Luckily, they reached the inn before anything more than whispering happened. Lloyd was scared to death that one of them would approach and ask her what had happened to 'that angel', or, even worse, 'her master'.

They checked into the inn without any difficulty, mostly due to the innkeeper refusing to charge them the moment he caught sight of Sheena. To Lloyd's relief, the others merely assumed he had recognized Colette as the Chosen and it passed without incident. They gathered in one of the two rooms they had gotten and all sat down, looking at each other gravely. It was Sheena who broke the silence.

"So each time Colette releases a seal and takes a step closer to becoming an angel, she loses a part of what makes her human?" Her query was met by nods from both canid and human.

"Losing your humanity…? That's terrible!" Genis cried. "Then… what's going to happen to you in the end?"

Lloyd jolted at that. True to his usual live-in-the-moment style, he hadn't even considered that there were more seals to release, and therefore, more changes on the way. If losing the ability to sleep and feel was only the beginning, where would it _end_? The angel Remiel hadn't seemed blind or deaf or anything like that, so… what would happen?

The thought of Remiel made him frown. That angel had had white-feathered wings just like he did. But… Colette's wings were made of mana. Was that a side-effect of being the Chosen? What made 'the Chosen' different from him? Maybe it was because she had been born with a Cruxis Crystal and his was just a modified Exsphere…

"More importantly," Raine broke in, casting a sharp look at the two of them, "why would you tell Svafnir but not the rest of us?"

"I didn't tell Svafnir…" Colette answered uncertainly. "I don't know how he found out. I thought I was hiding it so well…"

"You were hiding it fine," Lloyd assured her. "It's just… I noticed things, okay? You don't smell like sweat even after a fight. You eat food that's just been taken out of the fire while it's still way too hot. And the first night after you got your wings, you stared out at the ocean all night without sleeping, remember?"

"I remember," she nodded slowly. "I remember that you didn't sleep, either."

"I'm a _wolf_," he repeated his usual mantra. "You people forget that all the time."

"Even wolves need sleep," Raine said.

"Yeah, but we also take turns staying up all night to watch over the pack," he shot back. "We can handle one or two nights without sleeping, just like we can handle a few days without eating. We're not as delicate as humans."

"Fair enough," the teacher grudgingly subsided. "You still should have told someone, Colette."

"I'm sorry for making you all worry," the girl bowed her head, genuinely regretful. "Right now, things are a little difficult. But once I become a complete angel, it may be a lot easier. So don't worry. It's okay."

"But it is too hard on you!" Sheena objected hotly. "If you're tired, you want to sleep, don't you? Don't you miss feeling the wind or the sun? You should just stop this crazy world regeneration!"

"Thank you, Sheena," Colette smiled. "But if I quit now, all the people suffering throughout the world won't be saved. I was born for the sake of world regeneration, so I'm going to make sure I do my job. Okay?" Lloyd laughed internally, despite the inappropriateness of it. Only Colette could scold somebody quite so apologetically.

"Yes…" Kratos spoke for the first time, quietly agreeing. "That is the fate of the Chosen."

"But isn't there anything we can do?" Genis asked helplessly.

"The world will be regenerated when the Chosen become an angel," Colette recited as if she had memorized the line from somewhere. "It's always been like that… And it probably always will be. So…"

"What if," Lloyd said slowly, "someone _else_ became an angel for you. Could… that person… take your place…?"

"No!" Sheena and Kratos snapped in unison, both turning to bore holes through the wolf with their eyes. Lloyd yelped in surprise and cowered slightly, deferring to them in the manner of wolves.

"There are no other angels," Sheena gritted out.

"Besides," Kratos put in harshly, "no one but the Chosen may regenerate the world, even _if_ there were other angels."

"Sorry," Lloyd whimpered, looking down at his paws. He remembered falling to the ground in the moonlit forest, watching the blood running down his arm from where he'd bitten himself. He remembered each and every night he'd spent stargazing, alone in the wilderness.

He didn't want this to happen to Colette. She was too good for it. It was such a paradox… Only the most giving of souls could give up their own humanity to save the world… And yet, those were the people humanity needed to remain human most. He couldn't let someone as caring and gentle as Colette spend the rest of her nights watching the moon alone, knowing no matter how far she traveled, she would always be the only one of her kind. He couldn't let it happen right in front of him if he could find a way to prevent it.

In that moment, in that room of that inn in Asgard, Lloyd resolved to find a cure for this… both for himself and for Colette. He'd find a way to do it. Because he couldn't ever let Colette's father and grandmother stare at her like Kratos had stared at him that night by the river, like he was discovering an alien where his child should have been. No one should go through that kind of pain. No one.

"So where do we go from here?" Genis said into the awkward silence that followed, his voice small. "Do we know where the next seal is?"

"According to the Book of Regeneration, it's very likely that the next seal is in the Tower of Mana," Colette spoke up brightly. "We should go there next, right, Professor?"

"That would be our best option," Raine nodded. "For tonight, though, let's rest here in Asgard. We can stock up on supplies while we're here. In fact, I was about to suggest that some of us go and…"

"Sheena and I will go!" Lloyd leaped to his feet immediately, barking frantically. "We'll go buy whatever you need, Raine! Right, Sheena?!"

"R-Right!" the girl jumped to her feet as well, nodding hastily. Raine looked between the two of them suspiciously.

"…I really think that I should go," she said firmly. "Neither of you know exactly what we need."

"You could give us a list!" Lloyd suggested vainly. Raine, however, was not to be deterred. In the end, the three of them trooped out of the inn together, not a one happy with the arrangements.

The shopping trip was boring to the extreme, much to Lloyd's delight. Sheena still trailed whispers, but they may well have been due to her outlandish (and revealing) garb for all Raine knew. They managed to successfully purchase all their required rations and gels without a single inquiry beyond 'can I help you find anything?'

That is, until they met Aisha coming into the shop as they exited it.

"Raine, Sheena!" the woman greeted them, surprised and pleased. "I didn't know you were in town! How are you?"

"You know each other?" Raine looked between the ninja and the Asgardian curiously. Sheena shifted uncomfortably.

"Yeah… I'm doing fine, Aisha. How about you?" she repeated the pleasantry mechanically.

"Oh, things are wonderful in Asgard right now," she beamed. Lloyd shut his eyes, knowing where this was headed. "Ever since that angel visited, everyone's been feeling so much better! There's even been talk of building a monument in his honor."

"Angel?" Raine blinked. "Do you mean Colette?"

"The Chosen?" Aisha blinked back. "No, no. A few days ago, an angel from Cruxis blessed us with a test of our faith. He came to us as a sick boy, and after Linar, Harley, and I helped nurse him, he bestowed his favor on a village woman's little daughter. He diappeared after that, and now the girl, Liza, is being trained to become Asgard's next mayor. You are his disciple, isn't that right, Sheena?"

"U-Um… Yes," she nodded shakily, glancing at Lloyd and obviously considering kicking him. Lloyd scooted around to Raine's other side.

"Is that so? That's very interesting," the healer told Aisha. "I'm glad to see you're doing well. We must be getting back to the others now. It was nice talking to you."

"You, too. Martel's blessing on you all!" the woman said cheerfully, all but skipping away. Lloyd slinked after the half-elf as she strode from the shop, feeling very unsettled. He had affected them that much? He'd changed that little girl's future just by giving her a gift—and as an apology for having hurt her in the first place, no less! It was mind-boggling. He was no powerful angel. He wasn't even someone like Colette! He was just Lloyd Nix, a nobody, some guy with the audacity to impersonate a servant of the Goddess. If they built a monument in his honor for that, he'd feel guilty until the day he died. He might even have to come back and correct them, apologize for what he'd done, and get the hell out of there before they lynched him in revenge. Becoming a fugitive from the church for blasphemy was preferable to being _worshipped_, especially since he was being worshipped for a lie!

"You never mentioned you were in the service of an angel," Raine commented casually as they leisurely ambled towards the inn. Sheena flinched a bit and hitched on a forced smile.

"I'm not, really. He just called me that because I helped him when he came to Asgard…" she improvised. Raine's eyes narrowed.

"And that was before you arrived in Luin," she stated. "I thought you were helping Svafnir then?"

"She was," Lloyd jumped in. "She picked the angel up on the way to Asgard. Sheena's a very good samaritan that way."

"You never mentioned this angel before," the teacher accused. Sheena and Lloyd exchanged glances.

"He asked us not to," they said at once.

"He also asked the villagers not to," Lloyd added under his breath. Well. _That_ had certainly worked out, hadn't it? He was never, _ever_ listening to Sheena again.

"Was that the angel you had in mind when you suggested someone taking Colette's place?"

"Yeah. It was a stupid thought, though," Lloyd shook his head and laughed shakily. "I mean, it's not like we could _ask_ him to regenerate the world for us, huh?" Sheena added her own fake laugh.

"Quite," Raine enunciated clearly, drawing it into two syllables. She didn't seem at all convinced, though she let the matter lie. Their laughter petered out lamely.

Sheena kicked Lloyd behind Raine's back.


	18. A Step Behind

**Kitty: Sorry for the wait. And there's a bit of skipping in it, too… But I hope you enjoy it anyway! There's not much to say except that school is starting soon, so I have to go shopping and half-ass some forgotten homework assignments.**

**Zelos: You can't stop now! I'm just a few chapters away! When will I meet Lloyd?!**

**Genis: Relax, she's not quitting the fic. Just slowing down. Even more. Like, a lot. If she owned Tales of Symphonia… IT might not be out yet.**

**Kitty: Enough from the peanut gallery. Enjoy!**

~ ~ ~~ ~ ~

**Chapter Eighteen**

**A Step Behind**

"_It's just a problem that I'm faced with, am I_

_Not the only one who hates to stand by?_

_Complications headed first in this line_

_With all these pictures running through my mind_

_Knowing endless consequences_

_I feel so useless in this."_

—_Sum 41, 'The Hell Song'_

Lloyd thought he would lie down and writhe in pain for a while. Yes, that sounded like a lovely idea. Except that the others were right next to him, and, against all odds, they still didn't know that 'Svafnir' was 'Lloyd' or that Lloyd and/or Svafnir was undergoing the same transformation as Colette. Writhing in pain would give that game away faster than he could sneeze.

He'd done everything in his power to avoid being present for the releasing of this seal. It had been with considerable relief that he had elected to stand on the stupid door-locking mechanism and stay behind with Kratos and Genis. Typically, his mage friend had forced him to follow them to the top as soon as they were able. He even considered reverting to human form and flying away when they went out onto the roof. But that would defeat the whole purpose, wouldn't it?

So there he was, swallowing convulsively to force down the urge to hurl all over the nice, polished altar Colette was praying at. Or, above.

It hadn't been a total waste, at least. They had found a book in the lobby that Raine had said could be used to heal Clara, if only they retrieved the unicorn horn from the unicorn they had come across a while back at Lake Umacy. (This, of course, being _after_ a brief encounter with the transformed woman outside of Asgard, where she had dropped the key that had allowed them acess to the Tower in the first place. Lloyd wondered about that…) And he'd gotten to see his first real Summon Spirit when Luna appeared where Remiel was now. He tried to focus on those things instead of the painful nausea that was spinning his head around faster than Raine's lecture on magitechnology had.

"You have taken another step towards becoming an angel," Remiel, hovering above them all, said to Colette, "yet you seem anxious."

"Ah, no," the girl shook her head, tacking on a smile. "I'm very happy."

"Hmm…?" the elder angel hummed disbelievingly. "Now, Chosen One. Your journey is finally drawing to a close. It is time for you to rejoice. The path to the Tower of Salvation is open! Head to the Tower of Salvation and offer your prayers for regeneration! Then, you will be able to climb the stairway of heaven."

"The world regeneration is finally going to take place," Genis whispered, overawed.

"Is regeneration… really going to happen…?" Sheena whispered in a very different tone, clenching her fists at her side and staring intensely (but not intensely enough to be classified as a glare) at Remiel and Colette.

"I shall do as you instruct, Lord Remiel!" the young Chosen bowed her head. The green-robed man flew upwards, vanishing in his usual burst of light and feathers, though his voice echoed eerily around them.

"I shall await you at the final seal. Colette… my daughter. There, you will become an angel, like me."

Colette drifted downwards like a blown dandelion seed as the final strains of the angel's voice faded away. Her wings went out like a blown candle, irritating Lloyd to no end. If his wings did that, he wouldn't have to hide even as a human now. It was a terrible thing to be jealous of, he knew, but he couldn't help it.

"The end is finally in sight," Kratos said pensively, when Colette showed no signs of moving from the altar. "Let's head to the Tower of Salvation."

"Colette… Are you sure?" Raine asked gently.

"…Yes. I'm fine," the blonde young woman turned around with a smile and hopped off the altar. Lloyd swore internally. They couldn't go to the Tower yet. He hadn't found a cure! He needed more time… He wasn't ready…

But it was to the Tower that they were going. The group marched resolutely back through the Tower and across its lobby/library, evidentally set on reaching it in the same day. Any plans of that nature, though, were put on hold when Colette collapsed at the top of the stairs. To Lloyd's relief, she did not fall down them this time.

"Her Angel Toxicosis…" Raine murmured, kneeling down beside the girl. "We must rest here for today so that she may recover. We'll continue on to the Tower of Salvation in the morning."

"Speaking of which…" Sheena muttered to Lloyd as Kratos gathered the unresponsive girl into his arms. "How are you doing?"

"I don't feel any different," Lloyd paused and reconsidered. "Aside from the nausea, I mean, but that happens every time I transform."

"Is Colette okay?" Genis hopped up and down beside Kratos worriedly. The blue-lipped youth offered him a smile and opened her mouth.

Nothing emerged. Not even a croak. Colette's mouth opened and closed a few times before her hands weakly clutched at her throat, her expression slightly panicked.

"Wh-What's wrong?" Genis demanded, looking between her, Raine, and Kratos. "What's wrong with her?!"

"I would assume that she has lost her voice," the mercenary replied monotonously. Colette and Genis both gaped at him in shock and dismay. Kratos ignored them and began to carry his sickly charge down the Tower steps. Sheena and Lloyd looked at each other.

"…What the hell?" Lloyd finally summed it up. "I'm still talking. Why am I still talking?"

"Are you sure you're still transforming?" Sheena asked. Lloyd scoffed.

"No, I _always_ feel like I'm about to puke so hard that I turn inside-out," he rolled his eyes.

"I was just making sure," the ninja mumbled defensively. "Maybe everyone transforms differently?"

"So far we've matched up," Lloyd said doubtfully.

"I guess we should just be grateful that we don't have to explain to them why you suddenly can't talk anymore," Sheena finally threw her hands up in surrender. "Come on, I'm worried about Colette. We should hurry before we lose sight of them."

"You know," Lloyd commented as the pair hurried down the steps and raced after their companions, "it's odd to think that just a little while ago, you were trying to kill her."

"It's odd to think that I'm genuinely worried about her now," Sheena corrected. "I had a good reason for trying to kill her, but as for worrying…? I've got more reason to still be trying to kill her…"

"What reason?" Lloyd demanded. "You've hinted at it a bunch of times, but you never make any sense. I don't get how regenerating the world will be bad. For _anyone_."

"You wouldn't," Sheena murmured, though not insultingly. She didn't say anything more, and nothing Lloyd said could make her. She seemed deeply in thought for the rest of the day while the others made camp and generally just hung out, waiting for Colette to recover. Lloyd left for a time, returning proudly with a long gash in his side and a fully-grown buck in his teeth. He was alternately scolded for the gash and praised for the deer, and Genis used the meat (as well as some winterberries he'd foraged from the surrounding brush) to make a meal fit for kings as a combination late-lunch-early-dinner. They set some aside for Colette, who seemed much recovered come sundown.

It was just as Colette was finishing her meal that Sheena rose to her feet, commanding the attention of her seated companions.

"Everyone," she began, her face set in determination. "I have something to say."

"What is it?" Raine prompted when the girl seemed unsure of how to continue. With a deep breath, Sheena answered.

"I want to explain why I was trying to assassinate the Chosen."

"Alright. We're listening," the healer accepted this placidly. Her serene tone grew pointed as she continued. "Tell us about your homeland. A land that doesn't exist in this world." Sheena sucked in a shocked breath, her expression akin to that of a person who had just been kicked in the stomach.

"You knew?!" she eventually got out.

"No." Raine's answer changed the kicked-stomach look to one of confusion. She elaborated, "But you said yourself that _Sylvarant_ will be saved. That means you aren't from Sylvarant."

"Yeah…" Sheena nodded. Her confusion morphed into outright awe as she stared at Raine. Lloyd shifted uncomfortably to notice that the look on her face was comparable to the look on his when he gazed at the stars. "You know, it's really a shame that your intellect's being wasted here," the brunette said vehemently.

Lloyd cleared his throat to remind her that the world did _not_, in fact, begin and end with Raine Sage. Sheena looked up sharply, flushing in embarrassment as she realized she'd been staring. She cleared her own throat and continued.

"You're right. My homeland is not here, not in Sylvarant."

"What does that mean?" Genis demanded.

"My world is called Tethe'alla," she began to answer. The excited young half-elf cut her off.

"Tethe'alla? You mean the moon?"

Sheena laughed. "Of course not. My world isn't on the moon!"

"So tell us where it is," Lloyd insisted. She cast him a quick smile before addressing the group at large.

"Even I don't really understand the specifics, but there is another world that lies entwined with Sylvarant, as shadow is to light. That's Tethe'alla… my world," she explained vaguely. Lloyd mulled this over for a few minutes. He couldn't say he wasn't surprised… but it did make sense, in a weird sort of way. Everything she'd said that confused him made sense with her explanation, even if it was a fairly far-fetched one. And who was he to say that other worlds didn't exist? He was, after all, an artificial angel who could turn into a wolf. He couldn't call others' stories far-fetched.

"Two entwined worlds?" Raine repeated as if testing the words out.

"The two worlds lie directly adjacent to each other," the purple-clad ninja elaborated. "They just can't see one another. Our scholars say they exist on shifted dimensions. Anyway, the two worlds can't see or touch each other, but they do in fact exist next to and affect each other."

"I think you've used up your quota of 'each others' for the day," Lloyd muttered dryly.

"What do you mean exactly by 'affect each other'?" Raine inserted, a bit more pertinently. Sheena's answer was as simple as it was devastating.

"They vie for the supply of mana. When one world weakens, the mana from that world flows to the other. As a result, one world is always flourishing, and the other waning. Sort of like an hourglass," the girl mimed her words with her hands in an attempt to make them clearer. Genis leaped to his feet as if electrocuted, his eyes wide with realization.

"Wait, so right now Sylvarant is…!"

"Yeah," it was Sheena's turn to cut him off as she sighed tiredly. "Sylvarant's mana is flowing to Tethe'alla. Therefore, Sylvarant is in decline. Without mana, crops won't grow and magic becomes unusable. If there is no mana, the Summon Spirits that protect the world alongside the Goddess Martel can't survive in Sylvarant, either. As a result, the world slips even further down the path of destruction." Lloyd jerked at the mention of his beloved deities, his mind flying back to the beautiful woman they'd seen at the Tower of Mana. That woman… Luna… would die…?

"Then the Chosen's world regeneration is actually the process of reversing the mana flow?" Raine asked urgently.

"Exactly," Sheena (inapropriately) beamed at her. "When the Chosen breaks the seal, the mana flow reverses, and the Summon Spirit that governs the seal awakens. I was sent to prevent the world regeneration from happening." All cheerfulness drained out of her at this grim reminder of what she was really talking about. She looked down and scuffed her foot along the ground. "I broke through the supposedly impassable dimensional fissure for the sake of protecting Tethe'alla."

"In other words," Lloyd spoke without inflection, "to ensure the decline and destruction of Sylvarant. To kill our Summon Spirits." Beside him, Colette rose to her feet, looking desperate.

"Summon Spirits don't die, L—Svafnir," Sheena rolled her eyes. "They just go to sleep and wait for the next Chosen to awaken them. As for destroying Sylvarant… You can't get mad at me. You're doing the same thing to Tethe'alla by going on this regeneration journey in the first place!"

"We didn't know!" Lloyd protested.

"That doesn't change the fact that my world will be destroyed if you do," Sheena argued.

"It's hard for me to believe all of this," Raine murmured, reaching up to massage her temples. Sheena looked at her.

"I'm the proof. I posess summoning arts that have been lost from this world. You've seen them, right, Svafnir?"

"Yeah, that fox-spirit Corrine," Lloyd nodded. "You all saw him, too, in the Balacruf Mausoleum."

"I remember," Raine nodded. Sheena glanced around the fire, catching Colette's eye. She flinched at the kicked-puppy look.

"…Please don't look at me like that, Colette," Sheena pleaded. "I know that wasn't your intention. I don't know what I should do, either. I came here to protect Tethe'alla, but this world is impoverished and everyone is suffering. But if I allow the regeneration to occur, Tethe'alla will become just like this."

"But right now, you're helping us, right?" Genis asked hopefully. His hopes were dashed by the summoner's violent head shake.

"Yes, but that doesn't mean I can just abandon Tethe'alla! I… I don't know what to do. Isn't there any other way? A way for Sylvarant, Tethe'alla, and Colette to all be happy?!" she appealed to Raine.

"Have you considered that perhaps nothing that convenient exists in the real world?" the professor demanded sharply. Sheena flinched and lowered her eyes, blinking back tears of frustration.

"…The best thing we can do right now is to save Sylvarant from its current crisis," Kratos stated his opinion flatly. There was a long silence after his words, in which everybody sank into their own thoughts. After a few minute, Genis looked up and blinked at Lloyd oddly.

"Colette… what are you doing?"

"Huh?" Lloyd turned his head to the side. He nearly jumped in surprise. Colette was right there next to him, tracing some sort of pattern on his back. He, of course, couldn't feel her finger at all.

"Letters…?" he guessed, watching her finger move. He turned away and said softly, "Colette, I'm sorry, but… I can't read. You'll have to write on someone else's hand."

The girl withdrew immediately, blushing and mouthing apologies. He flicked an ear at her dismissively. At least it was half-true. Even had he been able to feel, it was unlikely he'd have been able to decipher what she was trying to tell him. He had a hard time puzzling through letters he could _see_…

The Chosen instead went to Genis, writing slowly into the palm of his hand. The half-elf frowned in concentration, reading out each word as it was completed.

"'I'll… try… asking… Remiel… if… there's… a… way… to… save… the… two… worlds'," he translated. "That's a great idea, Colette. He's an angel, right? He's got to have an answer!"

"I hope so," Sheena sighed. "If not… I might have to kill you after all."

"Sheena!" the mage cried out, reprovingly. His attention was pulled away from scolding her, however, by the finger that once more moved across his hand. Though Colette continued to write steadily, her blue gaze was fixed on Sheena. Lloyd was surprised to see that, for the first time since he'd met her, she was _glaring_.

"'When… that… time… comes… I… may… fight… back… because… I… love… Sylvarant… too'," he read out. Sheena shut her eyes and nodded.

"…I understand. You intend to become an angel no matter what, don't you?" she said. Colette nodded determinedly. Nobody could quite find anything to say after that. They all turned in for the night, except for Lloyd and Sheena, who had volunteered for night watch. They sat together, facing the darkened wilderness around them.

It was a lot to take in. Lloyd… didn't want to hurt people. It was a ridiculous sentiment, coming from someone who had killed as many people as he had, from someone who made a living stealing others' food and money. Still, in the end, his nonsensical hero-complex remained deeply rooted in his heart. He couldn't let the people of Tethe'alla die, nor the people of Sylvarant. It was an impossible conundrum. Except… his thoughts looped back to his idea from Asgard.

"Sheena," he spoke softly, but the girl still jumped, startled. "Sorry. I was wondering, about what I said before… what if _two_ people, me and Colette, gave up their humanity? Do you think… maybe one person for each world…?"

"Not possible," she shook her head. "Tethe'alla has its own Chosen, you know. The Chosen from the flourishing world doesn't have much to do, anyway, since there's no journey to go on. If the Goddess wanted two sacrifices, she'd pick him, not you."

"Oh…" he lapsed into thought again, speaking a moment later. "But… what if only one person gave up his humanity to save Sylvarant… and the Tethe'allans just came here the same way you did? Then we could all live together in the flourishing world, and it wouldn't matter if Tethe'alla itself died."

"Why not just move the Sylvarantis to Tethe'alla?" Sheena snapped. "How would _you_ like to leave your home for a strange land?"

"If the alternative was genocide? I'd like it very much," Lloyd growled. "I suggested it that way because Tethe'allans apparently already know about Sylvarant, but we don't know anything about Tethe'alla. We'd be even less inclined to move than your people since we'd have to be convinced first that other worlds existed for us to move to."

"…You have a surprisingly logical argument," Sheena said. Lloyd bristled at her surprise. "Still, Colette would still have to become an angel."

"She wouldn't," he said quietly. "I'd do it in her place. I'm already halfway there, anyway. It would be my punishment for what I did to Marble. Dad's already mostly okay with my being an angel, so it all works out."

"And everyone lived happily ever after," Sheena recited, "except for Prince Charming, who lived in a hole for the rest of his life. The End. Sucks to be Prince Charming."

"If I'm Prince Charming," Lloyd snorted, "I'd hate to see the Wicked Witch. Are you sure I'm not the Witch instead?"

"Being a girl is kind of a prerequisite to being a witch," Sheena told him. They both laughed quietly for a moment before descending back into silent contemplation once more. The would-be assassin spoke a few moments later.

"I'll see if I can't convince the King to evacuate to Sylvarant when I get back," she sighed. "I hope he'll understand. As for the rest of it… let's burn that bridge when we come to it, okay?"

"Right. Burning bridges," Lloyd laid his head down on his paws, his eyes shining in the darkness like the absent firelight. "While the world burns around us. Do you know what happens when you fight fire with fire, Sheena? You just end up with a bigger fire."

~ ~ ~~ ~ ~

The next morning, Genis fashioned some sandwiches out of leftover deer meat and some bread he'd been saving for just such an occasion. Sheena watched in bemusement at Lloyd tore into his own sandwich voraciously, in the manner of a dog with a bone: his paw on one end to anchor it while his mouth gnawed away at the other.

"You like sandwiches?" she asked. "I would have thought you'd just eat the meat."

"Okay, my first problem with that assumption: wild wolves eat berries and other non-meat foods all the time. It's nothing weird, yet people are always surprised," Lloyd growled through a mouthful of buck-wheat (a pun he was particularly proud of). "Second problem: Don't lump me together with regular wolves. I _love_ bread. It's my favorite food."

"We found out even before we knew he could talk," Genis related with a laugh. "Just a few days into the journey I handed out some biscuits while we were walking and he snatched one right out of my hand and gobbled it up. Since then, we've discovered that there's virtually nothing he won't eat. If I ever make too much, just give it to him. He's our own portable garbage can."

"Waste disposal unit: ready for duty," Lloyd said, tipping his head back and opening his mouth as wide as it would go to imitate a garbage can.

Just to teach him a lesson, and because she was full, Sheena dumped the rest of her sandwich into it.

The others all laughed as Lloyd choked.

It wasn't long after that that they struck camp and began to make for Lake Umacy. The breakfast incident was mostly forgotten by everyone within minutes of starting their march. Everyone, that is, except Lloyd. Sheena had watched him duck into the bushes just a little while later, emerging looking winded and sickly. She immediately felt guilty. She hadn't meant to actually _choke_ him or gag him or anything...

"You okay?" she asked sotto voce, dropping to the back of the group alongside him.

"No," he groaned. "I think I'm getting sick. I feel sick to my stomach..."

"Is it the angel transformation?" Sheena tensed up, relaxing at his next sigh.

"I don't think so. It feels more like I ate something bad, even though I didn't..."

"Do you get sick easily?" she asked thoughtlessly. Lloyd sent her a sardonic look.

"Do you remember that time I mentioned eating weeks-old meat raw to you?" he shot back, rhetorically. "No, I don't get sick easily. I haven't been sick a day in my life. ...So far."

"There's a first time for everything," the ninja shrugged.

"I guess," he agreed quietly. They spoke no more of the incident, though Sheena did notice in the days to follow, as they journeyed north towards the Lake, that he seemed to be eating much less than usual, though he seemed to lose not an ounce of weight. She shrugged mentally and wrote it off as some kind of stomach virus passing through. Nothing to worry about.

~ ~ ~~ ~ ~

Lloyd's second sighting of a Summon Spirit was much more exciting than his first one. He was over the moon from the moment they came up with the plan of forming a pact with the Summon Spirit of water to reach the submerged unicorn. Even weeks later, after their epic trek south, his happiness had not abated. He nearly capsized the boat to Thoda Island in his excitement at the prospect of actually _speaking_ with Undine. It took many kicks from Sheena and shouts from the Sages to calm him down… somewhat.

Having to cross the mana bridge across the geyser killed most of what excitement hadn't been beaten or shouted out of him by then, but it was instantly rekindled the moment he set paw on the other side—having bullied Sheena into carrying him across. (She, too, was worried about exposing him to any more mana in case it exacerbated whatever problem he was having with his transformation.)

He wiggled uncontrollably all throughout Sheena's conversation with Undine, barely even listening to the words, staring at her adoringly. Even Genis's 'puppy-love' jibe couldn't shake him out of it.

Then, true to his luck, they had to fight her.

Lloyd refused to participate in _that_. He watched from the sidelines as Genis, Raine, Colette, Kratos, and Sheena all took on the powerful being, wincing with every hit they landed on her. Necessary it might have been, but maiden of—_Martel's blood,_ it was painful to watch. (He was tentative about swearing by the Summon Spirit of Water now that he was in her very presence… What if she could _tell_?)

When the Spirit finally conceded defeat and bestowed upon Sheena the ability to summon her at will, Lloyd nearly howled with joy. He absolutely insisted on carrying her aquamarine in his mouth on the way back to Lake Umacy. True to Genis's prediction, he grew tired of it getting in the way of his speech and the constant drool leaking out of his mouth—not to mention aching muscles from trying to keep the damn slippery orb _in_ his mouth—and relinquished the gem to Sheena, who stored it in a pouch at her sash only after giving it a thorough wiping on Genis's shirt.

Genis still wasn't speaking to her when they arrived at the Lake.

~ ~ ~~ ~ ~

Hima was the same as it had been the last time Lloyd had come through it in his wanderings: small, bland, and very, very brown. This was made even more sad by the fact that the last time he'd come through it had been nearly three years ago. Lloyd did not often stay in Hima, due to the inn-like nature of the... inn. Meaning that to stay in Hima, he had to have money to pay for a room. Money which, more often than not, he did not have. Not to mention there was the sticky problem of conning people staying in an _inn_ into giving him food or whatever else he needed. No, much easier to get them in their own homes.

One of the things that stuck out in Lloyd's mind was that Hima had been bitterly cold the last time he'd come through. This time, the mist that wreathed the place may as well have been cotton for all the chill it gave him. He sat on the edge of the cliff above the 'town', staring out across the beautiful view and panting the thin air into little Lloyd-breath clouds.

Beneath and behind him, Sheena and the others were taking care of the escaped ranch prisoner Pietro. She had convinced them to stop by Hima on their way to the Tower of Salvation—instead of Asgard, like they had planned—in order to both avoid more talk of angels and to check on the man. She'd said that he hadn't been in the best of shape the last time she'd seen him—some disease he'd contracted in the ranch—and she wanted to see if, if he'd gotten worse, Raine's new Boltzman-Healing-Technique could help him. (She'd dubbed it 'Resurrection', for short.)

Lloyd left them to it. He was scared that if he came face-to-face with the man who had instigated the devastation at Luin he might lose control of his inner wolf, as he had been doing far too often recently. He puffed out another breath-cloud, watching it form into a white circle and drift away on the breeze he couldn't feel. The Navitus Crystal... it was losing power. The jolts it gave him were erratic, spastic, like the sputtering sparks of a dying fire. First his voice, then his tail, now his human consciousness... What was next? Would his fur fall out and leave him bald as a chick? What would he tell Genis (and Colette, and Raine, and even _Kratos_) if he showed up one day _sans_ muzzle, or with human ears?

The wolf whimpered a little, wishing he had a tail to tuck down. He didn't like not having a say over what happened to his own body. He'd always been a jack-of-all-trades, master of _one_ before, and that one had always been Nix Svafnir. No matter what happened in the world, he was the one thing he could count on. Just him, Chocolat, and the sky above him.

Now, it seemed that even the sky had turned traitorous. Every time he looked up at the moon, all he could see was another world vying for their mana. Whenever he saw the clouds, all he could think of was the wind that he couldn't feel bearing them aloft. Chocolat had forsaken him, too—_GET AWAY FROM ME, YOU MONSTER_. All that was left was... nothing. Because Lloyd couldn't count on himself anymore, either. His every certainty in life was slowly being taken away from him, one by one. His every joy in life was quickly following, it seemed, with the ruining of the sky, his morals, the guilty thrill of stealing, and, now, bread. He couldn't even enjoy the grainy, crumbly texture of bread on his tongue anymore.

Lloyd could no longer eat. He had finally told Sheena on the way to Hima, and she had come to the same conclusion he had: he had missed the Seal of Water. At the first seal, his and Colette's transformations had been at the same state (with the exception of his wings. Neither of them had any idea on that score). At the second one, the Seal of Water, the one Lloyd had missed, Colette had progressed to not eating in addition to not sleeping. Lloyd, meanwhile, was still only not sleeping. At the Seal of Wind, Sheena had absorbed enough of the energy to limit his transformation to just not feeling, while Colette also lost her sense of touch. Now, at this Seal, Colette had lost her voice, while Lloyd should have finally caught up to her by losing both his voice _and_ his ability to eat. They puzzled over that one for quite a while before Lloyd remembered the wound he'd sustained hunting deer for dinner. Raine had used her magic to heal him, and his nausea had disappeared after that. She had negated the energy, Sheena theorized, therefore again hampering Lloyd's transformation, leaving him a step behind Colette.

Yet another stream of white vapor poured from between his parted jaws. Lloyd comforted himself with the thought that from where he sat, he could see the Tower of Salvation. They were _that_ close to finishing the journey of world regeneration. The moment they did, he promised himself, he was going to rip off one Exsphere or another and never touch it bare-handed again. All that was left was to figure out which one he would give up.

"Lloyd?" The wolf knew who was approaching before he'd even turned. Only Sheena called him 'Lloyd' when he was a wolf. Sure enough, there she was, making her way across the plateau towards him.

"Hey, Sheena. How's Pietro?"

"Raine managed to heal him," Sheena reported. "He told us some stuff about the Desians' plans. He said they were working on something called a Mana Cannon, like what Kvar said in the ranch. Kratos said it was a weapon left over from the Ancient War, called Thor's Hammer. We don't know what they're doing with it, but it can't be good. They're also trying to revive this Angelus Project of yours."

"The Desians are up to no good," Lloyd summarized. "What else is new? Once we regenerate the world, any plans they have will fall apart. It won't be long now."

"True," Sheena sank into a squat beside him, looking out at the misty form of the Tower. "We decided to stay here for the night and head out to the Tower first thing tomorrow morning." She hesitated before adding, "...Any more ideas about saving Tethe'alla?"

"Not a one," Lloyd sighed.

"Damn," Sheena blew a sigh of her own. "I was hoping to have a fallback plan in case asking that Remiel guy turns out to be a bust. I mean, I know he's an angel, but..."

"...You'd think that if he could have fixed it, he'd have done it by now?" Lloyd finished. "I thought the same thing."

"So what do we do?" she spread her hands.

"I don't know!" Lloyd snapped. "I just... don't know."

"Maybe Raine was right..." Sheena whispered. Lloyd shook his head sharply at that.

"No! There _is_ a way to fix this. As long as there are people who want to solve it, there's no problem in the world that can't be solved. The problem..." Lloyd grimaced, "is getting people to want to solve it. So many humans only care about themselves, or only their family, or only their city. They're the ones who think it's okay for Colette to give up her life as a human to save _them_. I still think that moving everyone to one world or the other is the best plan we've got. If Remiel doesn't have anything..."

"Prepare yourself, then," Sheena stood, her face determined. "Because I have a feeling he won't. And if that happens, the Tethe'allan King is going to need some convincing. And possibly the only thing that _could_ convince him... is an angel from Cruxis."

"I'll start coming up with a speech now," Lloyd groaned in despair. "Have I mentioned that I _hate_ your plans?"

"Think of it as your third angelic duty: save the worlds," Sheena winked at him with a cheerfulness she didn't quite feel.

"One day, a real angel is going to smite me for this," Lloyd lamented. He stood as well, giving himself a shake that wriggled its way from the tip of his nose right down to his tailless rump.

"I'm going in now. You coming?" the ninja asked, already halfway across the plateau. Lloyd flicked an ear.

"Nah. I'm going to shift and stretch my wings for a bit. Cover me?"

"I'll tell everyone you're out chasing squirrels," Sheena promised.

"As long as they believe it, you can tell them anything," Lloyd laughed. "See you later, then."

"Bye," Sheena nodded. She turned and strode off the platform, not bothering to stick around and watch him transform. Lloyd grinned. He'd found a good friend in Sheena. He really, _really_ hoped that she didn't end up having to kill Colette. He really didn't know which side he'd be on in that particular fight...

~ ~ ~~ ~ ~

Flight was very good for clearly Lloyd's head. He was much better at it now, so much so that he even attempted a loop-the-loop in midair. He wasn't so much better at it, though, that this attempt was not aborted halfway through when his insufficient momentum sent him careening towards the ground headfirst. Still, he had mostly figured out how to go higher (thus leading to the discovery that the higher you went, the harder it got to breathe, thereby making him decide _not_ to go above the clouds anymore), and how to turn (without falling). He was even starting to get an idea of how to read the wind currents by the clouds.

The sun had set by the time Lloyd turned back for Hima. He winged his way through the mist, sending a quick glance upwards at the gathering clouds. It looked like there would be a storm that night, and a fairly bad one. The wind had begun to pick up, which Lloyd only knew by the increased speed at which he was traveling. He made it back to the plateau just as the first peals of thunder were echoing through the mountains.

Unfortunately, he was not alone.

The brunet immediately put his ascending skills to use when he spotted Kratos standing outside the darkened inn, apparantly talking to himself. His breath came quickly in panic. If he just looked up, Lloyd's white wings would show up like lit torches against the black thunderheads... And he did _not_ want to meet Kratos so soon after running out on him like that. Granted, it had been about two months now (and well into autumn), but it was still far too soon.

The teen spiraled cautiously out of the sky towards the plateau above his father. If he got there and crept onto the roof, he could watch and wait for the man to go back inside. Then it would be safe for 'Svafnir' to return from his... whatever excuse Sheena had given. His plan was executed flawlessly as far as the creeping, watching, and waiting parts (if, that is, one did not count the skid mark across the plateau and the spreading bruise on Lloyd's shoulder as a 'flaw'). Kratos, however, did not appear inclined to go back inside any time soon. Lloyd tuned in with his angelic hearing, barely stifling his noise of surprise as he heard the topic.

"...should have gone after him. Damn it, Kratos, you're such a coward... Is he really safer alone in the wilderness than where you can protect him? ...Of course not, you're just looking out for yourself, like always. Can't even be bothered to go after your own damn _son_..." the mercenary paced back and forth as he spoke, occasionally casting glances up at the sky. Lloyd's breath caught. It was a miracle he hadn't bee spotted flying in... Thank the Spirits for small favors...

As Kratos continued to berate himself—sometimes mentally and sometimes out loud—something caught Lloyd's eye off to the side. It was... some sort of distortion, like the shimmering on the horizon he'd seen in Triet Desert. But they were in the mountains, and it was just that one spot... As Lloyd squinted closer, he began to make out a shape in the center of it. A caped man with blue hair, one arm held outwards with its palm pointed at Kratos's turned back. Light began to glow around the caped man's hand.

Pointed... at... Kratos...!

"_DAD_!"

Before he'd even had time to fully realize what was going on, Lloyd was vaulting over the roof's edge, his wings folded to allow him to plummet down between the magic and its intended target. The ball man jerked in surprise, loosing the ball of energy before it was completely formed. The glowing sphere shot forward at the same time Lloyd hit the ground. There was a cracking noise from Lloyd's right ankle as it gave way beneath him, a softer snapping as his wings unfurled to completely shield his father, and a muffled exclamation as Kratos spun around just in time to see the magic slam directly into Lloyd's chest.

"Damn it!" the caped man swore. Before Kratos had time to draw his sword, he had vanished in the same way he'd come: into thin air. The older Aurion wasted no more time on him, instead dropping to his knees beside Lloyd, who had collapsed.

"Lloyd?" Urgent hands rolled the boy onto his back, wasting precious seconds to rearrange his wings. Kratos felt his hatred for them increase exponentially. "Healing Stream!" he cast frantically, watching the green mist soak into his unmoving son. There were a few breathless seconds where nothing happened before Lloyd finally coughed once, his eyes fluttering open.

"Okay," he croaked, "I am _so over_ waking up in the company of worried friends and/or family that have just saved me from mortal peril. Seen it, done it, wrote the book, released a sequel. _Done_." He craned up slightly, blinking owlishly at his hovering father. "You're okay, right?"

"I," Kratos growled, "am perfectly fine. Considering filicide, but fine. How do you feel? That man was shooting to kill..."

"I'm good," Lloyd said, levering himself into a sitting position. "He let it go early because I surprised him. My problem is more my ankle. I think I broke it in the fall. It's not moving when I try to wiggle it."

"First Aid," Kratos intoned. Lloyd lifted his leg and rotated his ankle with a sigh of relief.

"That's better." He hopped upright, turning to face his father and shuffling his newly-healed feet nervously. Any minute now...

"The only thing keeping me from locking you in a basement for the rest of your life," Kratos said slowly, his eyes shut as he took deep breaths through his nose, "is the fact that I don't own a _house_. That, and you just saved my life. Thank you for that. However, if you make _one more_ snarky comment, I might just..."

"Buy a house?" Lloyd suggested helpfully. Or, not so helpfully. Kratos's eyes shot open and a smack echoed across the mountains. Lloyd raised a slow, disbelieving hand to his reddening cheek, staring at Kratos as if he'd never seen a human before.

"Lloyd Aurion, do you have even the _slightest idea_ how worried I was?!" the red-haired mercenary shouted. "And after just finding out about..." he gestured sharply at the wings. Lloyd flinched. Kratos shut his eyes again as if he couldn't even look at Lloyd, speaking through clenched teeth. "I cannot _express_ to you how angry I am right now."

_I think you just did_, Lloyd didn't dare say the words aloud, though he rubbed his cheek and glared mullishly at his father. Sure, it hadn't _hurt_ Lloyd, but still...

"You can't just _do_ things without thinking about them!" Kratos continued to rage. "That blow could have killed you! You could have died out in the wilderness and I would never have known! You nearly _did_ die back in Palmacosta! Do you have a single ounce of common sense in your entire body?! How you survived fourteen years on what little wits you seem to posess I shall never know...!"

"I'll tell you how I _didn't_ do it!" Lloyd snarled, baring his teeth (forgetting, for the moment, that he was human). He couldn't sit meek under this. "I _didn't_ do it by waiting around on someone else's charity. I _didn't_ do it by sitting in place and twiddling my thumbs for years on end. I _didn't_ do it by following every little rule someone told me to follow. I certainly didn't do it by thinking, re-thinking, and second-guessing every little decision I made like you do! I lived because I was _free_! And I don't intend to start following orders like a good little soldier now."

"A good little soldier you most assuredly are not," Kratos snapped. "They _kill_ soldiers that don't follow orders!"

"So why did you heal me, then?" Lloyd flung out his arms to either side. "Let me die and maybe you can _adopt_ someone who'll listen to you. Why bother healing me at all?!"

"_Because you're my son, you halfwitted fool_!" Kratos's voice boomed out as loudly as the claps of thunder that punctuated their arguments.

"Well then maybe you shouldn't have had me in the first place," Lloyd hissed into the silence that followed, turning abruptly towards the plateau. His eyes were dry, but his throat had tightened until it was difficult to speak, and his fingers were creaking with the force with which they were balled into fists. He took an angry step, meaning to stalk away and fling himself back into the turbulent air. Maybe he'd get lucky and be struck by lightning, thereby ending all of Kratos Aurion's problems once and for all.

He had only taken that one single step when he found his progress arrested. Two arms wrapped around his torso like steel bars, hard and unyielding. Lloyd stood stiffly, not quite willing to melt into his father's embrace just yet. He was still mad. And besides that, he couldn't even _feel_ the hug. He couldn't take comfort from somebody else anymore.

"...I'm sorry," Kratos's voice murmured by his ear. "I'm sorry I yelled. I'm sorry I hit you."

"...And for calling me a fool?" Lloyd eventually mumbled.

"That is a point I am unwilling to concede," Kratos said, though his tone was not nearly as insulting as it had been moments previously. "But I am sorry for the way in which I broke it to you." He sighed. "Parents worry about their children, Lloyd. It's in our nature. Some of us handle it better than others. We are only human, after all," he added with a bitter smile in his voice. "I... do not handle my worry so well. I lost my family once. Now I worry with every waking moment that I'll lose you again—forever, this time. And when you just _throw yourself_ into danger like that when I can't protect you... Surely you've noticed that when people are relieved to see you alive, they become angry at you?"

"_You_ idiot!_ What were you thinking, pulling a stunt like that?!"_

"_And a good morning to you, Co."_

"I know..." Lloyd muttered, looking down. He blinked dry eyes a few times, his throat working to try and loosen it. It didn't work. He finally sighed. "I'm sorry, too. For saying you shouldn't have had me. For running out on you in Luin."

"And for refusing to listen to what I tell you?"

"That is a point I am unwilling to concede."

"Lloyd..." Kratos dropped his arms, his voice frustrated.

"Who was that man?" Lloyd asked without turning.

"I would imagine he's an assassin," Kratos said unhelpfully. "Perhaps another hired saboteur from Tethe'alla. Now, Lloyd..."

"The journey was shorter than I thought," the young angel interrupted him. "We might as well just meet here the day after tomorrow, forget waiting for spring. Then we can talk about what we'll do next. And I promise... this time, I'll listen to you. ...I love you, Dad."

"I love you, too, but...!"

Before he had time to finish his protest, Lloyd was in the air once again. He heard his father swear softly before running forward, cupping his hands around his mouth to shout.

"_Don't die, Lloyd!_"

"Words I live by!" the boy shouted back, not entirely sure if the man could hear him. It was just as well. If he had heard, he would have heard the way his voice had broken in the middle, the tearless sob that caught as his throat. The thunder roared in sympathy, the rain finally coming down as a drizzle that soaked right through Lloyd's clothes, splattering on his unfeeling face like the tears for his dry sobs. Who knew that loving someone could hurt this much? It was like Svafnir inside of him, tearing at his heart with sharp teeth and crushing jaws, pounding the hollow marble to dust with his numb paws. He hated fighting with Kratos. He hated having to leave him over and over—answerless, confused, frustrated. He hated hiding things from the person he wanted most to know. He _hated_ fighting with Kratos.

...Maybe, Lloyd realized miserably, _this_ was why most teenagers hated their parents.


	19. Betrayed

**Kitty: OMFGMAATSSC I have the cutest kitten in the world. XP**

**Zelos: O.O I'm scared…**

**Genis: Why?**

**Zelos: She just spent the last ten minute enumerating all the reasons she loves cats TO HER CAT. And just before that, she ate about half of a bowl of uncooked brownie batter.**

**Kitty: I can FEEL the salmonella setting in as we speak… 8P**

**Zelos: What's WRONG with her?**

**Raine: Judging by her symptoms, she has just spent a full forty-eight ours without a wink of sleep. Her blood appears to have been entirely replaced with Coca-Cola. As I have previously observed, YearOfTheKitty becomes incoherent, random, and oddly hyper when she is tired, and that is when she only goes TWELVE hours without sleep.**

**Zelos: …She's acting like a lunatic! You tell me this is just tiredness?!**

**Genis: Well, think about it: This is a ridiculously long character dialogue A/N, evern for her. Raine's suddenly in here, for some reason. And to top it all off, she shouldn't even be posting this until she's prewritten chapter Twenty-One, which she hasn't!**

**Zelos: This is starting to scare me even more… Quick, somebody disclaim!**

**Genis: YearOfTheKittydoesnotownTalesofSymphoniaoranyofitscharacterssodon'tsueherandpleaseenjoythefic! Hurry!**

**Kitty: And now that I've set the tone for what will obviously be a dead-serious, angsty chapter, read on. Sorry if the ending sucks, but I can't be bothered to rewrite it now. Like the twerp said, I shouldn't even be posting this, but it's all I can do to stay awake right now… Don't worry, it was written weeks ago, so my incoherency now won't bleed over into the chapter. Enjoy!**

~ ~ ~~ ~ ~

**Chapter Nineteen**

**Betrayed**

"_I cannot believe you claimed you were my family_

_Don't sweat it—it's set on false pretense_

_Betrayed, but not gonna be willing to change_

_And it doesn't seem likely to fade_

_Betrayed, but not gonna be willing to change_

_Cause you know..._

_It's sacrifice_

_False pretense—you'll hurt again_

_Stop pretending to deny_

_False pretense—you'll hurt again."_

—_Red Jumpsuit Apparatus, 'False Pretense'_

"Your friend is the most infuriating boy on the face of Sylvarant," Kratos remarked almost conversationally. "And I'm willing to wager a large sum that he would win that title in Tethe'alla as well."

"...I'm sure he's very sorry?" 'Svafnir' offered unsurely. Kratos snorted, the sound all but lost in the drumming of rain all around them.

The storm had not broken by morning. As a matter of fact, the storm did not seem inclined at all to break any time that day. The thunder and lightning had, luckily, moved on for greener pastures, leaving them to deal with the rain. The group huddled miserably on the plateau, awaiting the arrival of the dragons that would carry them to the Tower of Salvation. The humans (except for Colette) shivered uncontrollably in the apparently cutting wind. Genis hadn't even make a sarcastic remark about the state of Lloyd's fur, though the wolf expected to be told that he looked like a drowned rat any minute now.

When the man finally did arrive, he stared at Lloyd in dismay. The dragons whose lead ropes he held appeared even more bedraggled than the regeneration group, if that was possible. Every now and then, one would shake out its wings with a rush of collected water and coo mournfully.

"You never said you had an animal," the dragon handler said. "I'm not sure..." he glanced at the dragons.

"L—Svafnir can ride with me," Sheena decided. "I can hold him on my lap."

"I guess I'm not big enough to," Genis admitted grudgingly. Lloyd licked his hand to cheer him up.

"I will ride on the same dragon as the Chosen," Kratos decreed. "Protecting her... is my job."

"So I guess it's me and Raine," the half-elf mage said resignedly. "Oh boy..."

"At least you don't have to balance on somebody's lap," Lloyd growled, curling his lip.

"That's true," Genis cheered up immensely.

In the end, Lloyd did not fit on Sheena's lap. He was forced to drape himself sideways over the saddle in front of her, held in place by her elbows and knees while her hands were on the reins. Every gust of stormy wind beneath the dragon's wings threatened to buck the the canine off into the empty space below. Who knew if he'd be able to shift back to human before he hit the ground if he fell from this height...?

The dragons swooped in to land on the jutting walkway before the doors to the tower. Lloyd slithered backwards off of the lizard the moment its claws hit stone, taking a few steps on his hind legs to keep his balance before dropping back to all fours gratefully. He considered licking the ground.

"I am _never_ listening to you again," he told Sheena.

"At least this dragon can land on its feet, unlike _some_ winged creatures I know," the girl rolled her eyes as she executed a much more graceful dismount. Lloyd could not find a retort for this. Raine and Genis landed not long after they did. The half-elves swung off their scaly steed without the grace exhibited by Sheena, but nowhere near as undignified as Lloyd's descent. Any of them.

"Where are Colette and Kratos?" Raine asked as they approached, leading their dragon by its halter.

"They must have gone in already," Sheena jerked her thumb at the open doors. "I think I saw their dragon flying away as we were landing."

"Let's hurry, then," the teacher advised, releasing the repitilian steed. Sheena let her own go, and the two immediately turned and took off, speeding back towards their handler and their dry stables. Lloyd belatedly noticed that his fur was absolutely drenched. With a smirk, he sidled up to Genis.

And shook.

"Ack! What the...?! Svafnir! I'm going to kill you!" the even wetter half-elf screamed, lunging for the canine with murder in his eyes. Lloyd dodged, laughing, and ran ahead into the Tower of Salvation. Genis took off after him, leaving Raine and Sheena to bring up the rear.

"I wonder if we'll ever enter a building again without the two of them running ahead, trying to kill each other," Sheena mused aloud. Raine did not laugh.

"After this... we may not enter many more buildings together," she murmured. The purple-clad ninja sobered as well, her good mood shot down like a duck during hunting season.

"I know... But at least, even now, they can still find something to smile about," Sheena smiled herself, sadly. "I think Colette would like that."

"Yes," Raine agreed softly. "I think she would."

_But we'll soon see,_ she added silently, _exactly_ _how long they can keep smiling_. _I'm so sorry, Genis, Svafnir... Sheena..._

~ ~ ~~ ~ ~

Lloyd's paws hit the ground with staccato clicks as his claws ground against the transparent road beneath him. He did his level best not to look down, but he could still see the greenish light and moving shapes from the corners of his eyes. Genis (who had hopped onto his back moments before, their mirth cut off abruptly by the sight) had buried his face into the canine's fur, unable to stand even those peripheral glimpses.

Lloyd marveled that Colette's nerve hadn't broken immediately upon seeing the legions of her predecessors, the stream of never-ending coffins that spiraled into eternity beneath them. Then again, he knew that the possibility of failure had been with Colette from the very beginning. If anything, the grisly reminder would have strengthened her resolve to keep anyone else from sharing that fate. Colette... was strong. Much stronger than Lloyd, who wasn't entirely sure that he hadn't ground his teeth to stubs without noticing it in his agitation.

The teleporter hid the gruesome view with its blue embrace, taking Raine and Sheena only moments later and bringing them all where they least wanted to go: the altar. Lloyd took in the room before he'd fully solidified with quick, darting eyes.

It was a huge room, lined with pillars on all sides to hold up the vaulted ceiling. Right in front of them was a raised level with two curved staircases flanking it. Between these stairs was what looked to be a floating, purple sword. Of more importance to Lloyd, was the scene unfolding on top of the platform. Colette, her wings already out and hovering, Remiel flapping above her.

"Now, my daughter," the white-winged angel was saying, his arms spread wide as if to embrace her. "Release the final seal! In doing so, you will complete the final sacrifice of your human existence—your heart and your memory. By doing so of your own free will, you will become a true angel!"

"..._What_?!" Sheena couldn't hold back her screech, her round eyes flying between Lloyd and Colette. Lloyd, meanwhile, could have sworn that his blood just froze in his veins, even if he couldn't feel it. Angels... lost... their hearts...? And memories, too...?

"Colette's going to forget about us?!" Genis wailed.

"Colette's human life will now end, and she will be reborn as an angel," Raine droned emotionlessly. She, Lloyd noticed, was the only one of them not reeling. She, in fact, seemed entirely unaffected by the news.

"You knew," he accused. "You knew about this all along, didn't you, Raine?!"

"I'm sorry," she didn't take her eyes off of Colette's glowing, pink figure. Her fists were balled up at her sides unconsciously. "I promised Colette I wouldn't say anything. Colette will give up her life in order to regenerate the world. Becoming an angel means dying."

"That," the small group jumped in surprise as Remiel's head lifted to focus on them, interrupting, "is not quite correct. The Chosen's heart will die, and her body will be offered to the Goddess Martel. By removing her body, Colette will revive the Goddess. That is the true nature of the world regeneration! The revival of the Goddes Martel... is the revival of the world itself!"

"R-Remove her body...?" Lloyd stammered. His brain had locked. He couldn't understand this. He _wouldn't_ understand this! Angels were supposed to benevolent guardians. They couldn't... They couldn't demand _death_ from the people they were supposed to protect...!

"...Lord Remiel," Raine stepped forward, her voice calm. "We have heard that a world known as Tethe'alla lies parallel to Sylvarant."

For the first time, the robed being showed an emotion other than gentle kindness. His wingbeats faltered, dropping him a few scant inches before he recovered, naked shock running across his face. He composed himself within a moment, his handsome face turning cold and distantly angry. "That is not for you to know."

"You kept it a secret because it is true, correct?" Raine asked placidly. Lloyd flinched at that, his brain unlocking somewhat. Cuxis... had kept Tethe'alla—the truth—a secret, and covered it up with lies... to keep their true nature hidden...?

_No_, a tiny voice began to protest in the back of his head. _I didn't...! No! I'm not like them! I'm not...!_

"From whom did you learn of it?" Remiel demanded.

"Can't Cruxis make both worlds peaceful?" Sheena dodged the question.

"...If that is what the Chosen desires, she can lend her power to Cruxis by becoming an angel," the man responded slowly. "Once the Goddess Martel is revived by the Chosen, the two worlds will surely acheive peace, just as the Chosen wishes."

Colette, who had hovered silent and unmoving throughout the confrontation, suddenly looked up, her face pleading. Her mouth formed a question she could not give voice to.

Lloyd knew exactly what she was asking. And he gave voice to it.

"_That's a lie_!" he howled. Remiel flinched in surprise. "Nothing will change if Colette sacrifices herself!" the wolf continued. "_Nothing_! If this Martel woman could fix our worlds, she wouldn't need Colette to die for her! _You're lying_!"

With a single, harsh movement, Lloyd shook the stunned half-elf off of his back. He ignored the hands that grasped at his fur, pulling out clumps that he couldn't feel, as he sprinted up the stairs, taking them three and four at a time. He skidded to a halt beneath the angels, tipping his head back.

"Colette, you have to listen to me! You can't sacrifice yourself for something that won't save anyone anyway!" he pleaded. Colette looked down at him with wide eyes, but it was Remiel who answered.

"The sacrifice of the Chosen will save the people of Sylvarant," he sneered. "Are you saying that you would choose her soul over the entire world? Now, Colette." He turned back to the girl with a benevolent smile. "Come join your father."

"_Parents worry about their children, Lloyd. It's in our nature."_

"_YOU'RE NOT HER FATHER_!" Lloyd screamed, enraged. He leaped for the flapping figure, but couldn't even reach to bite his ankle. He threw himself up again and again, snapping for all he was worth. Remiel laughed, only further incensing the canine. For once, the urge to kill that rose within Lloyd was entirely his own, not his Crystal posessing him.

"**Svafnir, stop it**!" Colette cried in distress. Lloyd fell to the floor once more and turned burning crimson eyes on the pink-winged adolescent. Her face was desperately sad, but her mouth was not moving. "**It's okay! I could tell he wasn't my father from the beginning...**"

"It's not okay!" Lloyd barked at her. "Colette, come down here! Stop listening to him! I know what it's like to feel like your death would make the world better, but death doesn't solve anything! It's _life_ that makes a difference! Death's not a choice to be made, and it's only cowards who think it is. I thought you were strong, Colette!"

"**Vaf**..." Colette jerked. For a moment, Lloyd thought hopefully that his words had sunk in and she was about to fly down and forget that imposter above her. But instead a smile bloomed across her face. "**You can hear my voice! I'm so happy! Now I can say goodbye, if only to you**..."

"Y-You're not listening! Colette!"

"**Tell Genis goodbye for me, okay, Svafnir? He's my best friend and he always will be. You were a good friend, too. Tell Lloyd, that I kept my promise. Goodbye, Vaf. For the first time, I can honestly say... I'm not sorry,**" Colette's smile remained even as her eyes slid shut, her wings bearing her upwards to the waiting angel above them. A nimbus of white light surrounded the girl.

"_Why, you don't think she can do it? __Cause Colette's my friend, and even though she may seem like a ditz she's really brave and kind and strong. Why are you smiling? You don't think she can do it, don't you?"_

"_No, no... I think she'll do great."_

"_COLE—_!" Lloyd's howl was cut off with a choke as a wave of mana shoved slimy, wet tentacles down his throat, strangling him from the inside out. His vision began to dim around the edges, affording him a blurred view of the blonde girl as her arms dropped limply to her sides, her wingbeats becoming regular, mechanical. Her legs dangled like those of a hanged man, swinging slightly with every beat. Even that view began to fade, and the wolf could no longer quite remember why that mattered or what he was doing...

"Life Seal!"

The nausea lessened a bit, and Lloyd found his vision abruptly back to normal. He knew why it mattered and what he was doing. He whirled around to see Sheena on her knees behind him, clutching her stomach and gasping.

"Sheena!" he cried. Or, tried to. What came out was a creaky whisper that he doubted Sheena could hear over the wild laughter of Remiel.

"Hahahahahaha! I've finally done it! It's finally complete! Martel's vessel is finally complete! With this, I shall become one of the Four Seraphim!" the man exulted. And Colette just hung there limply, like someone already dead.

"What are you gonna do with her?!" Sheena demanded, rising to her feet, her legs wobbling and her face shiny with sweat.

"He's going to take her to heaven," Raine answered softly. She and her brother had mounted the steps themselves, and now came up beside the sickly pair, staring up at Colette with tears in their eyes.

"You lying bastard..." Lloyd forced past the blockage in his throat. The words hurt as they came out, like someone had shoved an invisible knife into his voice box. "You'll pay... Give her back!"

"That I cannot do, for she is Martel's vessel. This is Martel's new body, which took years to complete. I have no use for any of you, least of all a freak of nature like you! Be gone!" Remiel lifted one hand, an orb of light and magic gathering around it. The mana in the air thickened to the point where Lloyd wasn't quite sure how he was breathing through it. The light grew brighter, brighter, brighter and Remiel's face stretched in a manic grin as he aimed it right at Lloyd's face...

"Holy Lance."

The grin froze on Remiel's face as a blade of even whiter light pierced through him, protruding obscenely from his chest. The magic around his hand flickered and died, just as his wingbeats faltered. Lloyd and the others scurried backwards to avoid the angel as he fell, striking the ground with a CRACK, his wings bent at odd angles and bloody feathers scattered everywhere.

"You forget your orders, Remiel. That one Lord Yggdrasill wants alive," the same voice which had cast the spell that killed the man echoed around them. Its owner stepped out from behind one of the many pillars around them, resolving itself into a silhouette as familiar as its voice had been.

"Lord... Kratos..." Remiel burbled wetly, the light in his eyes fading only moments later as his harsh, rattling breath ceased. Kratos stepped across his body as if it were so much trash, facing the shell-shocked regeneration team expressionlessly.

"You would do well to leave now. The Chosen has made her decision, and now there is no turning back from it. Such was her wish, and so it has been granted," he intoned.

"What... are you talking about...?" Sheena demanded, her voice high and embarrassingly breathless, though she hadn't the inclination to notice or care at that moment.

"What are you...?" Lloyd whimpered. That suffocating, choking, thick mana he had felt... It hadn't disappeared. It wasn't from Remiel. It was from... his father. The mana rippled around him like displaced air. Every one of them sucked in a sharp breath as two wings unfurled behind their erstwhile companion like a blooming flower opening its petals. They were sharper than Colette's, a dragonfly's rather than a butterfly's, and as transluscent and blue as the most perfect, luminescent crystal.

"I am of Cruxis, the organization that guides this world," Kratos told them, rather superfluously. "I am one of the Four Seraphim, sent forth to keep close watch over the Chosen."

"Kratos is an angel, too?!" Genis whispered.

"You decieved us!" Sheena's voice cracked as she shouted. As hard as it was for her—and it was much, much harder than she could have imagined it to be—the stabbing pain of betrayal was nothing compared to the sheer torture she knew her friend must have been going through. Here, Kratos had no need to put on a facade for his son, no need to hide his personality from those who were more than likely doomed to death by his hand. Here was the truth of his father laid bare for him to see... And Lloyd, for his part, found himself quite unable to close his eyes to the sight before him.

"That man was a fool," the redheaded swordsman glanced back at Remiel's body. "Lord Yggdrasill is eager for the return of his Navitus Crystal, and for the retrieval of the Angelus Project. To these ends, I must take Svafnir along with the Chosen when I go." He stepped forward, unsheathing his weapon. "I gave the rest of you a chance to leave. This is the last chance I will give you: Leave now, or die with that 'superior being' behind me."

"And leave you to take Colette and Svafnir? No way!" Genis denied loudly, though his knees were trembling.

"Kratos... how could you...?" Sheena was shaking her head in disbelief. "Lloyd, he..."

The Seraph visibly flinched at the name, his mask cracking for a moment before he pasted it back together, a glint in his bloodred eyes not unlike that of the light glancing off of his naked blade. He advanced further, every step ringing out like a death knell. For whom it tolled was yet uncertain.

"You have chosen your own fates, then," he hissed. "Prepare to die." He lifted his sword, and the ones facing him took up fighting stances despite the impossible situation facing them. All, that is, but one.

Lloyd stepped out from the knot of friends behind him, approaching the evil angel with heavy, fumbling steps and a half-open mouth. Kratos halted his approach, staring down at the wolf with just the vaguest hints of surprise and confusion in his face.

"Svafnir!" Raine cried sharply.

"Let him!" Sheena barked at the same time, holding out her arm to bar the professor's rush forward. Lloyd sat at his father's feet, his head tipped back to look him in the face. Sheena held her breath. Was he going to reveal his secret? Maybe attack again?

"You," Lloyd said clearly and distinctly, despite the fireworks of pain in his throat, "want this Crystal?"

"Yes," Kratos frowned.

"And... you want the Angelus Project."

"Yes."

"Because Yggdrasill told you to find them and bring them back to him."

"Yes..."

"I see." Lloyd paused. Then, louder. "I see."

"...Are you going to come willingly?" Kratos queried, unsurely. He was not prepared for the wolf's muzzle to fold up into a snarl.

"Like hell I'm going anywhere with a maggot like you!" he roared. Kratos grunted in surprise as the animal sprang, his claws digging into the man's shoulders as they collided. The Seraph hit the ground hard, only just bringing his sword up in time. The flat of it pressed into Lloyd's throat—supported at the tip by Kratos's shield hand—as he strained, snapping at the man's throat while all four claws scrabbled over his pinned body. Blood stained his fur, trickling out from the edges of the blade, dripping onto Kratos's chin.

Kratos twisted his arms, shoving the wild dog off to the side, away from him. He was on his feet in a moment, watching Lloyd scramble to his own paws, slightly less gracefully. There was pure hatred in the wolf's feral eyes, in every bristling hair on his pelt and every dripping fang exposed by his snarl. In any other wolf, this would have been telling enough. But Lloyd was no ordinary wolf.

"I hate you," he growled, as deeply and constantly as his actual growl. "I _hate_ you, I hate you, IhateyouIhateyou_IhateyouIhateyou_...!"

"Svafnir, calm yourself," the angel commanded, glancing edgily at his friends. Why had they not attacked yet themselves? The answer was evident, if puzzling. Sheena... was holding them back...? Lloyd, meanwhile, had begun to slink in a circle around his prey, continuing his litany of loathing. Kratos spun on the spot, never taking his eyes from the beast.

"Attacking me is no less than pure folly," he tried again. "You know you cannot win. You have seen me slaughter your kind before."

"My kind? My kind?" Lloyd barked out a laugh. "Yeah, it's folly to attack you. But I'm just a halfwitted fool anyway. Or is this that famous parental worry I've heard so much about?"

"Svafnir... what are you...?" a shocked gasp cut off Kratos's question, his eyes widening.

"All this time!" Lloyd howled brokenly. "All this time, you just wanted the Spirits-damned Exspheres! I would have given them to you! I _trusted_ you! And you would turn me over to this Yggdrasill without a second thought! Well, so much for this much-vaunted _worry_, huh? I should have kept flying and never come back! I should have... should have...!" His breath and voice failed him at once, the pain in his throat blending and melding with the pain in his lungs, and in his heart.

"...Lloyd...?" Kratos whispered, the words trembling past lips that had frozen along with the rest of his body into a solid block of ice. "Son, is that you...?"

"I'M NO SON OF YOURS!" Lloyd hurled himself forward once more. This time Kratos numbly sidestepped the attack, leaving the wolf to collapse in a heap behind him. The others were struggling amongst themselves, fighting and shouting fit to drown out an earthquake, much less Kratos's sudden realization. He turned with wide eyes to the wolf behind him.

"I... hate you..." Lloyd panted, turning to face his estranged father with fever-bright eyes, his voice finally flickering out altogether mid-word. "...Angels are... just winged humans after all... _I_ _hate y_—!"

"Lloyd..." Kratos took a single step forward.

Everything was silenced by a starburst of light that drew all attention upwards, to the apex of the tower above them. The light hurt to look at, but they all looked anyway. It gradually faded out, resolving itself into a humanoid figure that descended from above. The light did not fade entirely, but condensed itself into two spreading wings of purple and blue light. The figure descended quickly, finally alighting on the altar before them all.

It was a man who looked to be around the same age as Kratos. He was tall and almost girlishly slim, with hair as long and blond as Colette's. His face, however, was twisted into a sneer that Colette would never have been caught wearing.

"Now, Kratos," the blond man drawled. "What is this? Did I not order you to eliminate the troublemakers and bring me my Crystal?"

"Lord Yggdrasill," Kratos murmured.

"Who's that?" Genis's strident voice rang out.

"Another angel?!" Sheena added her own dismaying disbelief. _What_ now_?_

The man, Yggdrasill, ignored them all. He directed his sneer at the snarling wolf before him. "Are you the mutt they call Svafnir?" Lloyd could only snarl soundlessly, his voice refusing to return no matter how he worked his throat.

_Give me your name_, he tried to yap, _and I'll give you mine._

"Hahaha," Yggdrasill laughed humorlessly, like a hyena ready to move in for the kill. "People need not introduce themselves to a dog."

"**What**...?" Lloyd not-said, his snarl dropping off of his face in shock. Yggdrasill laughed again, this time mockingly.

"Confused? Poor puppy. He heard his precious Chosen, but now no one else can hear him! Wretched beast..." the angel flicked his hair out of his face and lifted his chin challengingly. "I am Yggdrasill, Leader of Cruxis... and the Desians. And you, mutt, have the honor of becoming my new pet. Be grateful that I am still in need of my Angelus Project, or you would share the fate of your companions here and now."

He lifted both arms, throwing his head back. The sudden gathering of power quite literally knocked Lloyd off his paws, leaving him gasping on the floor like a landed fish. He couldn't breathe... it was too thick, weighing down on him, smothering him like a thousand tons of water and he _couldn't breathe_...

A red light shot past his face, dazzling him, but the wolf was too weak to lift his head and see what it was, or even to blink away the spots that blurred his vision. He heard Yggdrasill cry out, and a sudden influx of heavy footsteps as several someones rushed towards the platform.

"Damn! The Chosen has already become an angel!" someone with a booming voice swore. "We have no choice. We're taking her back with us alive!"

"Lloyd!" Sheena was suddenly beside him, gathering the limp wolf into her arms. Kratos was busy combating several soldiers in Desian uniforms. More Desians were herding a dollike Colette towards the teleporter, through which Raine and Genis had already vanished. Directing it all was a broad man with forked, brown hair.

Botta. Not Desians... Renegades.

Sheena sprinted towards the teleporter as quickly as she could with her awkward burden. The effervescent blue sparkles took with them not only Lloyd's body, but his consciousness as well, overwhelmed by stress and too much mana. Gratefully, he slept.

~ ~ ~~ ~ ~

"...the same organization," someone said.

"What?! How is that possible?"

"If we think of the Desians as part of Cruxis, or perhaps their pawns, everything makes sense."

"I remember one of the Five Desian Grand Cardinals said that their boss was Yggdrasill."

"And Yggdrasill said that he was the leader of Cruxis and the Desians when he appeared before us."

"...And Kratos is now our enemy. Or... he was all along. He said he was one of the Four Seraphim."

"He probably joined us to make sure Colette didn't stray from the journey to regenerate the world."

"Man... how are we gonna tell Nix...?"

"You don't have to worry about that, Genis," Sheena told the glum half-elf grimly. "I have a feeling we won't be seeing Nix for a long time."

"I guess... Wait!" Genis looked up sharply, suspiciously. "How do you know about Nix? You never met him..."

"Svafnir told me about him," Sheena deadpanned. "Isn't that right, Vaf?" She turned to the bed upon which sat a round, furred object with no discernable beginning or end, like an oversized throw pillow.

"He's asleep, Sheena," Genis admonished. The ninja cast him a wry look.

"Can't you hear him breathing? It's short and irregular. He's been awake since we began talking. He's just pretending so we won't bother him."

"So why are you bothering him?" the mage persisted. "He was really upset... by Colette and Kratos..."

"Maybe so, but we need to figure out what we're going to do next," she said. "Svafnir's as much a part of this group as you or me. So we need him _up_!" Her sharply raised voice elicited no response from the furred oblong, which was expanding and contracting slightly in the center.

Before the argument could escalate any further, the door to the small room opened. A Renegade soldier trooped in, casting a look around the room at the bedraggled, haggard-looking bunch with impassivity.

"Ah, you're awake. Then please, come with me to the next room. Our leader awaits you," he said. This, at last, prodded the silent lump of lupine into action. It slowly uncurled and stretched, becoming the usual brown-and-white wolf with bloodstone eyes which were currently dull and half-lidded. He paced listlessly after the group as they exited the room, followed by a hovering Colette. Her eyes, he had noticed, were the same color as his. At the moment, a third party observer would have been hard-pressed to decide which of the two seemed more soulless.

Lloyd was downright apathetic when he saw the blue-haired, caped man waiting for them beside Botta in the room they were led to. The one who had tried to kill... The one he'd seen in Hima. He listened silently as the others struck up a conversation of sorts around him, chattering on about Cruxis and Desians and Yggdrasill. Lloyd heard it all, but made no contribution of his own. Not that he really could at the moment.

The seal had been released. Colette had lost her heart and memory... and Lloyd had lost his voice. He supposed he should have been deliriously grateful that Sheena's quick thinking and willingness to absorb his own energy with her Life Seal had saved him from the same fate as the Chosen... but all he could dredge up was vague disappointment. He would rather have lost his soul than have to sit here with this... this _reel_ running through his head over and over and over, and him unable to scream or cry or give any sort of voice to the Apocalypse of Lloyd that was taking place behind his lightless eyes.

He watched without moving as a circle of Renegade soldiers moved in around them at the caped man, Yuan's, signal. The others brought out various weapons and moved into their own defensive circle.

"We no longer need the Chosen!" Yuan delcared triumphantly. "What we need is your master, mutt—Lloyd Nix! You know where he is, don't you? He was gone from Palmacosta when we arrived. You will tell us where he is hiding."

"Actually," Sheena spoke almost apologetically, "he won't. Or, rather, he _can't_."

"What nonsense are you spouting now?" Yuan sneered. Sheena inched aside and pointed at the wolf's neck. The fur had been torn away in two places where the ninja had used a knife to hack away the clumps of dried blood that had matted it together so that she could treat the wounds beneath (Lloyd had snapped at Raine when she had tried to cast First Aid on him). The wounds themselves were puckered pink lines that were sure to leave deep scars: a testimony to the canine's fury. Lloyd was almost sorry that his skin didn't hold scars. It would have been nice to have a physical reminder of why, exactly, he was a naïve fool. Then again, he probably didn't want a reminder of _that_ every time he looked in a mirror for the rest of his life…

"He was wounded fighting Kratos," she improvised quickly, using the same story she'd fed to her friends. "He can't talk anymore. Who knows if he ever will again? He couldn't tell you where Lloyd is even if he wanted to—which he definitely doesn't, by the way."

"Urgh...!" Yuan grimaced, his mind clearly racing furiously. "Then he'll just have to lead us there! Grab him, men!"

The Renegades lunged forward as one. The four bipeds held them off for a few seconds, just long enough for Lloyd to slip between their legs and make for the door. Yuan began to race off in pursuit, but was brought up short as Sheena materialized in front of him, landing a roundhouse kick square to his stomach. The man doubled over as she, Raine, Colette, and Genis pelted after their four-legged friend, deep into the bowels of the Renegade Base.


	20. Shipwrecked

**Zelos: This is it! The chapter you've all been waiting for! I, the Great Zelos Wilder, am finally in the fic! Please, try to contain your excitement; we wouldn't want anyone to get hurt. ~_^**

**Kitty: Narcissist. Anyway, yeah. School's taking up most of my time (homework on the first day should be **_**illegal**_**, if I may take a moment to complain), so that's why this took so long. Also I got sick, but it's just a cold, not swine flu or anything.**

**Genis: Even if it was, it's not like you can catch the flu through a computer. Idiot. You'll never own Tales of Symphonia with an IQ like that…**

**Kitty: Mean li'l twerp. I wonder why I like you sometimes… Anyway, here's the next chap. Enjoy!**

~ ~ ~~ ~ ~

**Chapter Nineteen**

**Shipwrecked**

"_You, my friend… you're a lot like them._

_But I caught your light, and you know I did._

_Now I'm lost in you, like I always do._

_And I'm dying to win, cause I'm born to lose."_

—_Breaking Benjamin, 'Firefly'_

Lloyd was about as tired of listening to long-winded conversations that he was unable to participate in as he was of regaining consciousness among concerned friends. And this was still only the first day he'd spent without his voice. He threw his head up and down when Sheena kindly (pointlessly) asked what he thought about their plan to travel to Tethe'alla.

The trip through the base was a blur for him. The wolf simply followed the ninja in front of him like a duckling after its mother, not bothering to look to either side of him or even really think about what he was doing. He was numb inside as well as outside now. He might as well have lost his heart with Colette, really... All it was doing was paining him with every step, every breath, every moment he spent awake. Because this time he'd not only had his only family ripped casually and violently away from him (again), but he had failed, failed, _failed_ once again at the only significant thing he'd ever tried to do for someone. Colette had still become a full angel. Kratos had cheated him of revenge again by killing Remiel. Once again, he had snatched defeat from the jaws of victory and was left to deal with the aftermath of his efforts.

The group paused upon reaching the rheiard hanger, despite their need for haste. Everyone glanced between Colette and Lloyd questioningly, concernedly.

"Here," Sheena nudged the wolf onto the nearest aircraft, taking up position behind him. "He'll go on mine. Colette can probably pilot her own. She'll just follow us."

"Hang on to my waist, Genis," Raine instructed, taking the controls of the second rheiard. The mage pulled a face at Svafnir—who did not react—but obeyed. Colette stepped docilely onto the third machine. Sheena shouted quick instructions on how to fly over the sound of the engines humming to life, hoping that Raine and Colette were quick learners.

In moments, they were off. The three rheiards rose out of the hanger and into the bright sunlight of Triet desert. Lloyd blinked, finally registering some surprise. The Renegades were based in Triet? No wonder they'd never come across them; Triet had been one of the few towns they'd spent mere days in rather than a week or two.

The three-man formation wheeled around, following Sheena's lead as she piloted their craft back towards the Renegade Base. Or, rather, at the air above it. Lloyd squinted at the shimmering heat-distortion before them. It didn't waver, didn't move as they plunged towards it. It engulfed them, smearing reality into a runny mess of colors that swirled around them, howling like the wind, before finally slowing and settling into an altogether unfamiliar landscape. Where the desert had once rolled away beneath them, now craggy mountains rose up in knife-sharp folds softened by a carpeting of trees.

Lloyd's unashamed gawking was interrupted by a sudden buzzing from the rheiard they rode, shrilling as if in panic. The sound was echoed by Raine's vessel, and by Colette's as well.

"Wh-What's happening?!" Genis shouted. "All of a sudden, it just...!"

"Look! The fuel gauge is empty!" Raine cried out. Sheena swore.

"So that's it! Since you released the seals in Sylvarant, there's not enough mana in this world!" she gabbled out at the top of her lungs.

"And that means?!" Genis's voice was squeaky with panic.

"We're gonna fall!" Sheena's wasn't much better. The half-elf mage promptly began to scream for all he was worth as his and Raine's vehicle spiraled out of the sky. Colette continued on for a few moments before she, too, plummetted after them. Sheena cried out as her friends dropped, feeling the rheiard buck protestingly beneath her feet.

Abruptly, the flight leveled out. They continued onwards like a boat gliding across a still lake, watching helplessly as two tiny plumes of smoke unfurled like flags of mourning from Fooji Peak. Sheena looked around herself frantically. Why...? What was happening? She was... still flying...?

She looked down. Lloyd sat there, his face squinched shut in concentration. Sheena could not sense mana. She was only human. Had Genis or Raine been there, however, they would have been gagging at the powerful waves emitting from the constipated-looking wolf. Lloyd, for his part, was mustering all the energy in his body, trying to channel his angelic mana into the aircraft beneath him to keep it aloft.

It wasn't enough. Fooji Peak shrank behind them, sure enough, but it wasn't long before the shreiking alarm sounded again and the rheiard began to lose altitude rapidly. Lloyd, in desperation, bent his nose to his paw.

The sudden outpouring of mana triggered by his transformation steadied the rheiard for the briefest of moments before it continued to careen downwards, now bearing two panicked teenagers instead of one. Sheena watched in horror as a city loomed up beneath them, ready to crunch them up in building-shaped teeth. With her last bit of willpower, Sheena twisted the controls and desperately tried to steer the crashing vessel towards a certain extravagant building with which she was well-acquainted. If anyone deserved this...

At the last moment before impact, Lloyd seized Sheena beneath the armpits and flapped for all he was worth, attempting to cushion their fall. The rheiard punched through the shingles in a geyser of smoke, fire, and terra cotta shrapnel with all the force of a three-hundred pound machine that had just fallen a mile downwards. Sheena shouted in pain as the fire scorched her, and then again as the splintered roofbeams tore at her arms. Lloyd wouldn't have been able to shout even if he had been in pain, so it was just as well he was as numb as ever.

Everything was fire, smoke, collapsing, tumbling, falling, flapping chaos for several minutes. Sheena was torn from Lloyd's grasp, and Lloyd himself suddenly found that one of his wings would no longer flap at his command. When everything settled down once more, he found himself staring up at a fire-rimmed hole in the ceiling, through which he could see a fire-rimmed hole in the ceiling of the room above, which led out into the sky. They had crashed through two floors. Lloyd lay there, watching everything blur into and out of focus. He must have hit his head. Or was that the smoke...?

_Probably both_, he decided.

~ ~ ~~ ~ ~

Zelos was not what you would call a 'private man'. His house was always an open one. He _encouraged_ people to drop in and out uninvited and unannounced. So they did. Zelos's house was the inn by the crossroads for the rich and the female. Even when he himself was not in, his butler Sebastian never turned away anyone who wished to traipse on in and leave a note on his coffee table or—more often—his pillow.

So it was that Zelos was in a constant state of expecting company. Snacks always ready, alcohol close to hand, his appearance and housekeeping immaculate. Even now, as he sat in his bedroom, bent over a book (because, yes, he _did_ read them, despite what Bansheena said. He was a well-educated nobleman, after all), he was ready and waiting for the next not-quite-so-unexpected visitor.

Zelos was soon to learn the true meaning of the word 'unexpected'.

He had just finished a chapter and looked up, considering making the trip downstairs to grab some lunch, when there was a tremendous _CRASH _that blew out his eardrums and shook the house to its roots. At the same time, something exploded just across the room from him. Suddenly, everything was noisy, collapsing, burning, smoking, shouting _chaos_, as his house crumpled around him. The redheaded noble was pitched forward as the floor gave way with a splintering screech, a severed roofbeam clunking down on top of him and pinning him to a heap of what he thought might once have been a couch but was now shredded and on fire.

The cracks and creaks slowly died down as the smoke rolled on and the fire crackled and the dust settled. Zelos groaned loudly, shoving himself to his hands and knees, shoving the roofbeam off of him. He rose to his feet, one hand to his head, blinking around dizzily. He coughed a few times and, with an internal sigh, set off for the center of the wreckage to find the meteor that had just half-leveled his house.

To his perplexity, the Tethe'allan found a twisted, burning hunk of metal that was definitely _not_ a space-rock half-embedded in the foundations. It looked like... a rheiard...?

Zelos straightened abruptly, frowning. Rheiards were flown by _people_. There was someone in all of this destruction, more than likely wounded, possibly dead.

The Chosen went to work shoving aside beams and overturning chunks of wood and plaster, searching for any sign of blood or a body through the smoky haze. He clambered over a pile of a dresser that had been reduced to matchstick kindling, grimacing as the sharp splinters poked his palms. He slid down the other side, taking a single step forward before pausing. And blinking. And squinting.

Was that...

...A _wing_...?

Zelos cautiously tiptoed closer to the feathery object, wondering if he was witnessing the aftermath of an epic bird-on-rheiard midair collision. Though this wing was more on the scale of a human being... Its feathers were as long as his forearm...

With a grunt, the redhead pushed aside a smoldering piece of wood. And there it was. Illuminated in a pool of light, a person just a few years younger than Zelos himself lay on his back. His legs and arms were sprawled carelessly, as were his crumpled, white-feathered wings. Zelos inched closer.

He was skinny, that much was obvious. Not much on him in the way of muscle. And his clothes had been irreparable _long_ before this little stunt. Zelos couldn't make much of his face out beyond his strong jaw due to the long, brown hair that was scattered across it. Long brown hair that poured to the side as the head beneath it shifted, the boy's face tightening in pain. Zelos wasn't sure if he was holding his breath in awe or shock as the young angel levered himself up slightly, blinking around with half-lidded eyes that were the same rich chocolate color as his hair. Those eyes soon found their watcher, widening slightly in surprise. They eyed each other for a few moments, warily.

A sudden groan made both Chosen and angel jump in surprise. The glance they exchanged this time was startled. Neither of them had groaned... Zelos frowned. There had been a _second_ person on that rheiard? Talk about bad luck...

"Nngh... Lloyd? Are you okay? Lloyd, can you hear me?" the groaner called out groggily. The voice was female, and not new to Zelos. The nobleman huffed a short sigh—really, who _else_ had he expected to have crashed into the Chosen's mansion?—and raised his voice. As he spoke, he never once took his eyes off of the brunet before him.

"Oh, Sheena, my voluptuous, home-wrecking hunny... Could you come here for a second? I have a few questions for you…"

~ ~ ~~ ~ ~

"...so we stole the Renegades' rheiards and flew back here," Sheena finished her tale, nearly two hours later. The telling had not taken quite so long, but they had first had to dig the ninja out of her pile of rubble and then go searching through the wreckage to make sure Sebastion was alright. That done, the Chosen had unearthed some medical supplies from the mostly-intact kitchen pantry to gel and bandage the pair's wounds. The brunet youth had insisted on making Zelos take care of Sheena (for some unknown reason; he still hadn't said a word). Now, as she spoke, the young woman was wrapping a length of linen around the boy's outstretched arm. "Unfortunately, Tethe'alla's mana has already begun to flow back to Sylvarant, so we crashed. The others ran out over Fooji Peak, but Lloyd managed to keep ours going until..."

"...you were over my house," Zelos finished dryly. "Well thanks a lot for that."

"If anyone can afford a new one, it's you," Sheena shrugged, unrepentant. She tied off the bandage and stepped back, eyeing her friend. "I think I got all of them, now." The angel offered her a grateful smile before hopping off the edge of the table he had been seated upon. They had held this discussion in the kitchen, as it was the only room in the house that was all but unscathed. And not on fire. Sebastion had long since left, though for what purpose none of them were sure. Zelos let him go with a shrug. He trusted the man to be doing something useful. He'd never let him down before.

"So," the red-haired noble pinched the bridge of his nose, "in summary, you _didn't_ kill the other Chosen, you found out that Cruxis and the Desians are the same thing, and then you led a bunch of Sylvarantis here to find a cure for the other Chosen's... erm, _problem_. Oh, and now those Sylvarantis are stranded on Fooji Peak alone. Is that about right?"

"Yeah, about," Sheena nodded, her brow creased with worry. "I hope they're okay..." She shook her head. "No, I'm sure they're fine. Raine's smart enough to stay put until I come and get them."

"I can't help but notice that through this whole story, you haven't told me who he is yet," Zelos said, aiming a nonchalant smile at the boy. "What's up? Speechless with awe in the presence of the Great Zelos Wilder?" The angel pulled a face at him, but it was Sheena who answered.

"This is Lloyd," she began. A soft kick from her friend had her rolling her eyes and adding, "...Nix Svafnir Aurion. Call him any one of the first three. His story's a bit... complicated. And he's not speechless, you narcissistic ass, he's _mute_. For now."

"Would that complicated story have anything to do with the fact that Cruxis is now apparently the bad guys... yet somehow you're being all chummy with one of their angels?" One red eyebrow arched.

"Surprisingly, no," Sheena laughed. "That would be a lot _less_ complicated. Lloyd accidentally became an angel when he equipped what turned out to be an experimental Cruxis Crystal. See it on his chest? Before all this, he was just a thief wandering through Sylvarant. He can also..." The girl's explanation was cut off by a much sharper kick to the shins, courtesy of an angry-looking Lloyd. Sheena glared at him. The angel waved a hand at Zelos and then spread his hands questioningly. Zelos blinked in incomprehension, but Sheena seemed to get it.

"Don't worry, we can trust Zelos. With this, at least," she added. "He can keep secrets." Lloyd still looked doubtful. "He's this side's Chosen. We were going to have to get him on our side anyway if we wanted to use that plan of yours." This inane comment seemed to put the boy's mind at least a little more at ease. Zelos offered him a wide grin.

"You can count on me! I'll keep anything secret if my voluptuous hunny tells me to!"

Sheena whacked the back of his head, scowling. "Keep calling me that, and I'll smack you!"

"_Ow_! Don't say that _after_ you hit me!" the Chosen whined. Sheena hit him again.

"I'm being serious, Zelos! You can't breathe a word, or Lloyd could easily die. It's _serious_."

"I got it, I got it," he nodded, rubbing his head ruefully. "So what's the big secret?"

"You know that wolf, Svafnir, I told you was traveling with us?" Zelos nodded. "Lloyd is Svafnir. His other Exsphere, the one on his hand, lets him turn into a wolf whenever he wants. Raine, Genis, and Colette don't know about it; they think that Svafnir is Lloyd's pet that he lent to them, and that his intelligence comes from the Exsphere on his paw. I found out when Lloyd sprouted his wings. On top of all that, Kratos—the one that betrayed us—he's Lloyd's dad. Only Kratos, Lloyd, and I know that, though. I think Kratos found out that Svafnir is Lloyd when he betrayed us at the Tower..."

"...Wow," Zelos whistled. "And I thought _I_ had a screwed-up childhood." Lloyd curled his lip and gestured sharply, tracing a single line through the air followed by a horizontal one that led into an angled line. Zelos blinked.

"He wants to tell you that he's seventeen," Sheena translated dutifully. "Lloyd, he already knew that. He was just being a jerk, as usual."

"Ouch," Zelos winced. "That hurt, hunny."

"Get used to it," Sheena snapped. Then, her face lapsing into thoughtfulness, "Though... I guess I need to be leaving as soon as possible. I have to go get Raine and the other two before someone else finds them and figures out they're Sylvaranti. It's gonna take a while to get there on foot as it is..." She turned, feeling a tug on her sash, to find Lloyd tilting his head at her. He flapped his wings a few times, winding his arms around her waist. Sheena scowled and peeled them off, turning back to him resolutely.

"You can't fly me there, you idiot. You broke your wing!" Lloyd glanced over his shoulder, surprised. "Yes, I know you can't feel it, but you still shouldn't be flapping them like that. You have to let it heal."

"He can't walk through the streets of Meltokio like that," Zelos interjected. "He'd be picked up by the Church as soon as he set foot outside. And if the Desians are looking for him like you said..."

"You'll just have to stay here," Sheena decided. Zelos's face fell.

"_What_?! First you wreck my home, and now you're leaving me alone with him? What am I supposed to do?! He can't talk!" he cried out in dismay.

"That doesn't mean he's stupid," Sheena rolled her eyes and folded her arms. "Quit being a baby. I'll only be gone for a few days. Just make sure the Desians don't find him, okay? He could help you clean up around here. You don't have to do anything other than keep him company; he doesn't eat, so you don't have to feed him, and he doesn't sleep, so no bed required. Even _you_ should be able to handle this."

"I..." Zelos began unsurely. Too late. Sheena had already turned away, offering an apologetic smile to Lloyd.

"Sorry, Lloyd. He's a pain, I know, but he really is a good person when you get down to it. Just stick it out, and I'll be back with the others before you know it, okay? I'll see you soon!" She waved and started towards the door. In the entryway, she paused and called back over her shoulder, "You had better keep him safe, Zelos!"

"I got it covered!" the Chosen said to her back as the door swung shut.

For a few minutes, the two young men stood, blinking at each other. An awkward silence descended. Well, of course it did, Zelos thought to himself crossly. Lloyd _couldn't talk_. If Zelos didn't take the initiative, there wasn't going to be any sort of communication at all. He cleared his throat and spoke up.

"So... you and Sheena seem very... _close_," he offered. Lloyd's eyes widened, and he began to mouth something, shaking his head frantically. "Whoa, whoa, whoa, calm down there, bud. I was making small talk." The angel exhaled loudly, relaxing. "Though now that you mention it... _are_ you?"

Lloyd glared at him and shook his head once, firmly. Zelos heaved a sigh of his own, rubbing the back of his head. Well this conversation was going nowhere fast. He couldn't very well keep up a dialogue single-handedly, and he certainly wasn't going to sit here molding all of his words into yes-or-no questions.

"Can you write?" he eventually suggested, thinking that he could get some paper and they could talk _that_ way. Unfortunately, Lloyd shook his head sadly. "Well, then..." Zelos was stumped. Now what?

Luckily, just then Sebastian picked his way into the kitchen, looking as calm and unruffled as ever. The Chosen lit up at this distraction, seeing Lloyd also turn to the butler gratefully.

"Hey, Seb. Where ya been?"

"Master Zelos," Sebastian nodded to him politely. "I have fetched the fire brigade. While I was out, I took the liberty of speaking with Lord Vaynier. He has agreed to allow you to stay in his guest wing until your mansion can be rebuilt, if that is alright with you, of course."

"Vaynier..." Zelos tapped his chin in thought. "Oh, right! Blonde girl, squeaky voice. I remember. I take it he doesn't know...?"

"He does not."

"Good man," Zelos grinned and clapped his butler on the shoulder. He turned back to find Lloyd casting him a questioning look. "His daughter," he said by way of explanation. Lloyd did not look enlightened in the least. "Just forget it," Zelos sighed, flapping a hand. He walked back to the waiting angel and slung an arm around his neck. "So, here's how we're going to do this: Sebastian and I go in, make small talk for a while. I'll plead fatigue and escape to the bedroom, where I'll open the window and give you the signal. Meanwhile, you wait in their bushes until you see me, and then you fly on up to the window, got it? Easy as winking."

Lloyd cast him a skeptical look, a look which Zelos was free to ignore since it came with no skeptical question. He led the way to the door, still dragging Lloyd along by the arm around his neck. Sebastian followed them silently, his face as professionally expressionless as ever.

~ ~ ~~ ~ ~

Lloyd was Not Happy. Capital 'N', capital 'H'. Not Happy. This Not Happiness derived mostly from the fact that he was currently pressed belly-down into the moist mulch of somebody's rosebushes. The thorns, as always, made no more impression on him than the air itself, but he knew that even if he couldn't feel it, they were still doing damage. He could die of blood loss without ever realizing it... At the very least he knew that his clothes did not appreciate the tearing thorns. He seriously needed to spring for a new outfit soon... This one was dirty, threadbare, and now charred and torn to pieces as well.

Another part of his Not Happiness came from the fact that he'd been pressed belly-down into the moist mulch of somebody's rosebushes for the past _two hours_. The sun had noticeably sunk now, painting the sky with beautiful streaks of red and pink. And Lloyd, with his angelic hearing, could hear Zelos _still flirting_ with that damn Lord's daughter. The 'blonde girl, squeaky voice' comment had now been explained (Lloyd winced as another ridiculously high-pitched giggle stabbed his ears like someone shoving toothpicks into his eardrums) but he felt no joy in the discovery.

It was another full hour before one of the upper-floor windows finally swung open, allowing a young man's torso to lean out. His long red hair spilled across his face as cornflower blue eyes scanned the garden below. When they alit upon Lloyd's shoddily-concealed form, the Tethe'allan grinned, waving one arm over his head. Lloyd was forced to assume that this was 'the signal', since there had been no actual prearranging of this crazy scheme beyond Zelos's rapid-fire instructions in the kitchen.

So, with a sigh, Lloyd stood and shook out his wings. It only took two flaps to get up to the sill, but those two flaps were the oddest wingbeats Lloyd had ever experienced. For one thing, there was the matter of his broken bone—which he couldn't feel but knew he wasn't helping—making his right wing slightly floppy. For another, he had been concealed in a clump of _rosebushes_. When he snapped his wings out sharply, a cloud of leaves and red petals burst from where they had fallen or been wedged between his feathers.

Zelos applauded as the boy crawled into the opulent guest room, wreathed with smiles.

"Nice entrance, bud! A bit on the melodramatic side, but rose petals are always a nice touch," he nodded sagely. Lloyd glared at him and ground his teeth together, wishing that he could chew the man out for keeping him waiting for three hours. Zelos either chose not to notice or really didn't, because his next words changed the subject entirely.

"Looks like we'll be sharing a bed," he gestured towards the room behind them. "There's a couch, too, but there's no way those flappers of yours will fit on it." Lloyd ground his teeth even harder. Was the man just absentminded, or was he doing this on purpose? Sheena had _told_ him Lloyd didn't sleep. And even if he could sleep, what was stopping _Zelos _from taking the couch?

"Anyway, you get settled in here, mmkay? I've got something I need to do before turning in. Later." With a casual wave, the redheaded nobleman strode right back out into the hallway, leaving the door wide open behind him.

Lloyd lunged forward to slam the door shut, leaning against it and breathing heavily with panic and aggravation. This guy... This guy was _infuriating_! He didn't doubt Sheena, and maybe he really was a good person when you got down to it... But either Lloyd wasn't quite down to it yet or the definition of 'good person' had changed significantly from his understanding.

Lloyd threw himself onto the bed facedown, wishing he could groan into the pillow. This whole thing was so much harder without a voice. Then again, he was more than positive that if he had a voice, he would have already somehow screwed everything up. Or at least utterly embarrassed himself by screaming at Zelos just a few moments ago.

He rolled over and twitched a wing out of the way to stare at the ceiling. Okay... he was being a little dishonest there. The almost-screaming-fit was not the thing that would have embarrasssed him had he had a voice. But it wasn't his fault! Zelos was just so... _touchy-feely_. He was all over him! And he smelled like lavender... Or was that lilac?

Lloyd turned back over, pounding his fist into the bedsheets. What was wrong with him?! He didn't even _like_ flowers, and here he was trying to decide which one a complete stranger _smelled_ like. He really needed to get his head checked... This transformation was messing with his brain...

As an angel, Lloyd was still very much awake when Zelos returned several hours later. Neither said a word to the other as Tethe'alla's Chosen changed into nightclothes and slid between the sheets. Lloyd relocated to the couch—though not without shooting the man a glare first—where he sat for the rest of the night, staring alternately at his feet, the slice of starlit sky that could be seen through the window (sitting on the sill to properly stargaze would have been far too conspicuous), and the lump under the bedsheets that was Zelos Wilder.

The moon was on a downward curve towards the horizon when the young angel silently padded his way over to the bed, bending down over the sleeping redhead. He stole back to the couch moments later, just as silently as he'd come.

Yep. Definitely lavender.

~ ~ ~~ ~ ~

Zelos quickly escaped the guest room—smirking as he heard his new friend slam the door shut in a panic behind him—and slipped into an empty study down the hall. This door he carefully shut and leaned against. He withdrew a small device from his pocket and set it on the floor before him, pressing a red button on the side and straightening back up.

Above the device, a green image flickered to life. A thin man with a sharp face and a flowing cape glared at the Chosen, folding his arms.

"What is it, Zelos?"

"Hello to you, too, Yuan. You're looking particularly harried today," Zelos returned cheerfully. Yuan sighed.

"I've no time for your games right now. What is it that you wanted?"

"Well, you were right about one thing," the Chosen laughed shortly. "They _did_ turn up in Tethe'alla. Right through the roof of my house, I might add, and on stolen rheiards."

"I knew it!" Yuan's face was torn between anger and triumph. "Was the dog with them?"

"...Well," Zelos hesitated. "Most of them crash-landed on Fooji Peak. Only Sheena got the honor of wrecking my billion-gald mansion. So I would assume the dog's with them."

"Good. And what of Sheena?"

"She left to go get them. She told me to wait here and she'd send them to me. So I guess I don't even have to bother working my way into their confidance, huh?"

"You still have to gain their trust," the Renegade leader corrected him. "Especially that of the mutt. He'll only tell you where the boy is if he trusts you enough to let something slip."

"So the plan remains unchanged."

"Yes. Keep reporting back whenever you can. We'll keep searching on this end," Yuan half-turned away, already finished with the conversation.

"Roger that, captain," Zelos saluted obnoxiously before leaning forward and switching the communicator off. He picked it up and slid it back into his pocket, knocking the back of his head against the door softly. So. He hadn't told them about the Svafnir-Lloyd thing after all. Even he hadn't been sure coming in here whether or not he was going to...

It wasn't like he cared or anything. Sure, the kid was cute, but so was Sheena, and he was betraying _her_ without a second thought. He felt no lingering regret at all from that promise he'd made to Sheena, nor any shame from her assurance that he was a 'good person'. And it wasn't like he had any special regard for angels, being in the employ of Cruxis and all...

He was curious, he decided. That was it. He wanted to see how the pieces of this puzzle were going to fit together, and where among them was placed Lloyd Nix Svafnir Aurion. He had to get the full story before he reported anything to anyone.

Besides, he thought with a grin. He had yet to see what kind of benefit he'd get from sharing that little tidbit. As it was, this kept things interesting. Lloyd had never really been part of the scheme to transfer his status to his sister, anyway. That was Colette. He could have fun with this... He chuckled to himself as he brought out another, similar, device from his other pocket and switched it on.

"Have you found them yet, Zelos?"

"And a very good evening to you, Lady Pronyma. You'll never guess what happened to me today..."


	21. On the Road to Recovery

**Kitty: Sorry! Sorry! I've been having some real trouble with the next few chapters; it's like they refuse to turn out any way but stilted or awkward. I hope my revisions have finally beaten that out of them, though… **

**Zelos: Oh, yeah. I like this chapter.**

**Genis: You would, you flirt with everything on two legs in it.**

**Zelos: Well, yeah. Duh.**

**Kitty: Anyway. This is one of my favorites, too, and I really love the quote for it. I'm posting this so late (today, I mean) because I was going to tomorrow, before I scheduled a shopping trip. I'm buying parts for my Edward Elric cosplay on Halloween. ^^**

**Genis: I guess any of our costumes would take WAY too long to make… In any case, YearOfTheKitty does not own Tales of Symphonia.**

**Kitty: Enjoy!**

~ ~ ~~ ~ ~

**Chapter Twenty-One**

**On the Road to Recovery**

"_If I could touch the sound of silence now,_

_You know I would if I knew how_

_To make these intentions come around._

_And now I'm hearing without listening_

_And believing every word that you're not saying;_

_Speaking without a sound."_

—_Lifehouse, 'Cling and Clatter'_

Lloyd was pacing the room anxiously when dawn broke. He was bored out of his damn mind, but that was nothing new. He usually was, ever since he'd lost the ability to sleep through the boring parts of life. And given up thieving. In any case, there was a different worry on his mind now: their hosts. What if someone came in to wake Zelos later that morning? They'd see Lloyd for sure. He wouldn't fit behind the bed or the couch, and the wardrobe was far too small for his wings.

He considered waking the young man himself, but discarded that in the interest of not ticking off a man capable of leaving him in a clump of rosebushes for three hours straight when he was in a _good_ mood. Someone as rich as Zelos was probably used to sleeping in. Lloyd continued to pace, a frown slashing its way across his face.

He stopped dead in surprise when, at around six o'clock, the nobleman on the bed began to stir. Zelos sat up and rubbed his eye with the heel of his hand, yawning widely. He regarded Lloyd out of one groggy blue eye.

"Huh...?" he mumbled, frowning. "That's odd... I don't _think_ I have a hangover..." Lloyd marched over to him and reminded of yesterday's events in the best form of communication he could manage.

He whacked the Chosen in the back of the head.

"_Ow_!" Zelos jerked forward, clutching his head. His eyes lit up. "Oh, yeah! Sheena came back yesterday and crashed into my mansion... and then left me with you. I remember now." Lloyd crossed his arm and tapped his foot. "Alright, alright, I'm getting up. Hold your horses." The noble stretched his arms over his head, yawned again, and swung his legs over the side. He wandered over to the wardrobe with his arms still over his head, happening to catch Lloyd's questioning look along the way. He dropped his arms.

"I can't tell what you're trying to ask, you know," he sighed. "Uh, I usually get up early to practice my swordsmanship?" Lloyd shook his head and pointed at the wardrobe. Now that he was thinking about it, Zelos had taken pajamas out of it last night. But this wasn't his house...

"Oh, that. Lord Vaynier doesn't know this, but... the lovely Miss Vaynier and I are... old acquaintances," Zelos smirked. "I stay here sometimes on the weekends, so Lara keeps a few spare sets for me. She knows _all_ my sizes." His eyebrows wiggled suggestively, smirk widening. Lloyd blinked blankly. The smirk slid off of Zelos's face, leaving him sighing and rubbing his temples. "Forget it. If you're seventeen and don't get innuendo... There's really no hope for reeducation at this point. Now, let's see..." He threw open the wardrobe doors and began to dig around in the clothes inside.

"I think the first thing to do today will be getting you some new threads," his voice was muffled. "You _cannot_ walk around Meltokio wearing _those_." He emerged from the depths with a few articles of clothing thrown over his arms. "Ah, here they are..."

Lloyd tapped the man on the shoulder to get his attention. When Zelos was looking, he flapped his wings violently, his face stormy. He had to be doing this on purpose, the angel thought. There was no way in the world(s) that anyone was this absentminded. No _way_.

"Hmm? Oh, those," the Chosen waved a dismissive hand. "Fold 'em up tight under your shirt. Here," he plucked another garment off the rack and tossed it at Lloyd, who caught the heavy material awkwardly, "wear that, too. No one'll even look twice at you. Now, I gotta go pay my respects to the hosts. I'll meet you outside in a little while, mmkay?"

Lloyd simply gaped as the redheaded young man all but sashayed from the room, his arms still full of the whatever-it-was Zelos wanted him to wear. He continued to gape at the closed door for a full five minutes after his companion had left. He only shook himself out of it when he heard another door (presumably wherever Zelos had chosen to get changed) shut somewhere down the hall. He didn't even... There was no...

Lloyd looked at the bundle in his arms, holding it out before him. It was a thick coat. Since Zelos was a bit taller than him and noticeably broader (Lloyd blamed seventeen years of malnutrition), the coat came down a bit past his knees and the whole thing was baggy on him. Resigning himself to another harebrained scheme à la harebrained Chosen, Lloyd did as told and pulled his wings in as tightly to his back as he could, settling the coat over them on his shoulders. A look in the mirror affixed to the inside of the wardrobe's door showed a surprising picture:

He looked normal.

Lloyd was swamped by a wave of nostalgia. Had it really been less than a year that he'd had these things on his back? He loved flying, as clumsy as he was in the air. He knew that with practice, he'd soon be flitting through his beloved sky just as he always had in his dreams, watching Sylvarant unfold beneath him and knowing that he'd done it of his own power.

Lloyd reached out to lightly brush his fingers against the glass, tracing an unseen shape curving over his shoulder. But even with all that... His wings made him even more a fugitive than he'd ever been. He couldn't walk out among people anymore unless he had a heavy coat like this one. He could hide them, he could pretend to be normal for a little while, but when night fell and all the humans went home to sleep, he'd still be standing outside, watching the stars as the world moved on without him.

_Hidden wings..._ His fingers moved to trace the shape of his reflection's face. With his other hand, he brushed a wing of hair over his left eye. Now, if he imagined his coat was purple and his hair red, he looked almost exactly like... like...

Lloyd turned away abruptly and strode towards the window.

~ ~ ~~ ~ ~

Sheena was gone for three days, returning early on the fourth. Three days, every single hour of which was spent with Zelos (excepting, of course, the intervals during which Lloyd snuck in through the window while the Chosen ate dinner with and chatted up their host and his daughter, respectively). On the first day, Zelos made good on his promise to get Lloyd more 'suitable' clothing. For the life of him, the angel could not tell whether it was a charitable gesture or because the man didn't want to be seen with a shady-looking ragamuffin in a trench coat.

Of course, the moment they set foot in a tailor's shop, Lloyd was one big bundle of nerves, waiting for the moment when the tailor or his assistant (a young girl who was either extremely shy or in awe of Zelos—it was a toss-up) would place a hand on his back and out his secret. Lloyd himself hadn't been aware of the full extent of his vocabulary until that moment, as he internally damned Zelos with every curse, blight, pestilence, and plague he could call to mind for coming up with this stupid plan.

His anger diminished somewhat as the tailors expertly wielded their measuring tapes… all without touching him. Lloyd observed their practiced movements, realization dawning slowly as he looked around the shop. It was a high-end place, not that far from the nobles' residential quarters, probably used to all sorts of lords and ladies parading in. Lords and ladies with money and power. Lords and ladies that wouldn't like to be touched by common tailors…

The anger simmered out entirely as the tailor sent his assistant packing to fetch some things from the back while he struck up a conversation with Zelos. Brown eyes regarded the redheaded man while he wasn't looking (and, Lloyd noted, the conversation was mostly on the part of the tailor; Zelos looked supremely bored).

No. It couldn't have been planned. Zelos was too… His idea of keeping someone safe was blatantly parading them around town! There was no way the brainless flirt had purposefully done this. No.

Lloyd was still telling himself that as he changed into his new clothes in the curtained-off dressing room off to the side. Since they'd measured his shoulders and torso while his wings had been folded beneath his shirt, the new shirt he pulled on fit easily over his feathered appendages, hiding them from sight. Even so, there was _no way_…

The tailors set upon him as soon as he emerged from the dressing room, checking and tugging and _not touching_ him. He was shoved (by Zelos) back into the curtained section while the tailors took his new clothes to make a few small adjustments.

It was only as he and the Chosen strode away from the tailor's shop—the angel clad in his new clothes, which had been _custom fitted_ to hide his wings and make it look as if there was nothing being hidden beneath them—that Lloyd admitted that _maybe_ Zelos had shown some foresight.

Of course, however crafty the redheaded man may or may not have been, it didn't change Lloyd's opinion of him one whit. This might or might not have had anything to do with the tendrils of lavender scent that embraced him as surely as the arm slung companionably around his shoulders. Lloyd was actively _not_ trying to figure out whether it was cologne or a hair product when they were suddenly set upon by a swarm of women that seemed to pull themselves from the very bricks of the buildings around them. It was that, or they crawled out of the gutter, because Lloyd didn't see them coming. And he _wasn't_ distracted by anything, either. One minute he and Zelos were walking along (where to, he had no idea) and the next there were at least fifteen women (ranging in age from _far too young_ to _way too old_ and everywhere in between) crowding in around them. Or, more specifically, around Zelos.

"Ooh, Master Zelos! What happened to your house? I went by earlier and there's nothing left!"

"Are you alright? You weren't hurt, were you?"

"If you need a place to say, my door is always open for you, Master Zelos…"

"He's staying with me," a squeaky voice broke in mulishly.

"Hunnies, hunnies, please," Zelos laughed, waving his free arm in a comical attempt to fend them off. "There was a slight accident, but everything's fine now, and no one was hurt. Miss Lara was kind enough to allow me to sleep at her house for a few nights, so there's no need to worry about little old me!" Lloyd discreetly rolled his eyes, unnoticed among the outcries of adulation from the womenfolk, lauding his modesty to the heavens. Zelos's ego visibly swelled as he watched, which was enough of a contradiction for his pride to demand that he attempt to escape the arm-trap around his neck. This, unfortunately, did not pass unnoticed by the women.

"Who's he?"

"Why are you hanging on _him_, Master Zelos?"

"I've never seen him before… Is he new around here?"

"What's your name, cutie?"

Once again, Zelos intervened, this time clapping his hand on Lloyd's shoulder, not removing his arm.

"_This_," he said loudly, "is my bud Lloyd. He has a bunch of other names, too, but I forgot them. Anyway, he's visiting Meltokio for a while, so I'm showing him around. Oh, and he's mute, too, so don't think he's being rude to such lovely ladies as yourselves," the Chosen added almost as an afterthought, a suave smile working its way across his face. There was another collective swoon among the women, though this time it was divided between those praising Zelos's generosity and those pitying the 'poor, cute boy'. Lloyd tried as hard as he could to project his thoughts (none of which were in the least complimentary) towards his companion like he had at the Tower of Salvation. Sadly, the insults never reached Zelos, who continued to flirt away obliviously.

If there was one bright spot to the rest of the morning, it was that Zelos managed to subtly maneuver Lloyd out of the reach of any clingy admirers so that not a single hand came anywhere near his back. This, of course, meant that they were practically spinning on the spot, since the girls had absorbed Lloyd among them like an amoeba consuming its prey. Lloyd himself spent the entire time as tense as a bowstring, half-listening to the 'conversation' flowing around him and half-trying to distract himself by naming the scent of each woman's perfume. Finally, Zelos disentangled them from the throng and strode away with Lloyd in tow.

Lloyd slumped with relief as the women disappeared around a corner behind them, casting a halfhearted glare at Zelos. The Tethe'allan noble merely snickered and shook his shoulder slightly.

"You need to loosen up more, bud. They're not trying to eat you, you know," he paused. "…Well, not in the way you're thinking, anyway." He shook his head at Lloyd's expression. "Just forget it. My point is: they just want to admire you. So let them! It's a win-win situation—they get to appreciate you, and you get appreciated. Everybody comes out on top," Zelos's smile grew somewhat distracted. "Now, come on, bud. You may not need to eat, but the Great Zelos is getting kinda peckish. There's a good café down here…"

Lloyd let himself be towed along to the good café down there, his brow creased in thought. There was obviously something going on behind the words Zelos was telling him—he'd figured out by now that the nobleman was far more intelligent than he appeared. Still, it wasn't his place to pry into what was essentially a complete stranger's personal life. He was getting far too much information on _that_ particular front as it was…

But Zelos's possible issues aside, the way he'd set things out seemed incredibly appealing. To be surrounded by people, every one of whom was there for the sole purpose of talking to, looking at, and being with him… To be adored unconditionally, with no word of his faults even as an 'in spite of'… To, for a brief time, be _loved_ by people who would never find a reason to doubt that 'love'…

Lloyd knew it was shallow. He knew that any feeling given to him by those women was just as meaningless as what he felt for them. He knew it would never touch the heart of the matter, the reason it sounded so appealing to him in the first place. (_"GET AWAY FROM ME, YOU MONSTER!" "…Are you going to come willingly?"_)But if quality was impossible… Lloyd would settle for quantity.

Later that night, as Lloyd sat listening to Zelos and Miss Lara Vaynier's muffled voices from the guest bedroom, he wondered if, maybe, he wasn't the only one settling.

~ ~ ~~ ~ ~

The morning of the second day, Lloyd lingered only a few moments before the wardrobe mirror—just long enough to check that his wings were well-hidden, and to notice (with a sneer) that his artificially-broadened torso made him look more like… older than ever. He exited through the window to meet Zelos around the front once more.

Today, they spent most of the day just meandering around Meltokio. They watched a tournament from Zelos's private box in the Coliseum (Lloyd noted that most of the patrons did a double-take upon seeing him accompanying the Chosen). Zelos introduced Lloyd to the horror that was window-shopping, much to the brunet's mute disgruntlement. He even got a whirlwind tour of the Cathedral when Zelos popped in and out (as quickly as possible) to pick up something he'd left there two days ago. Throughout the whole day, Zelos gave Lloyd intermittent instruction in the art of writing, trying to improve his communication skills.

And when, inevitably, Zelos's posse caught up to them, Lloyd was mentally prepared. This time, he offered a small smile and tried to keep up with the conversation, nodding when appropriate and (more often than not) blushing profusely at their comments. He never relaxed completely, and still had to avoid their hands with his slow rotation since Zelos still didn't let go of him, but it was much less tedious than their previous encounter. He had to hide a grimace, however, when the girls came to unanimous conclusion that Lloyd would be a real looker (their words, not his) when he got older. That single comment stayed with him the entire rest of the day, reminding him exactly why he was fooling around with these people in the first place.

Zelos, to his credit, noticed his friend's slump.

"Why so glum?" the Chosen asked, the sentiment slightly diluted by the mouthful of food he spoke through. He swallowed hugely and continued, gesturing with his fork for emphasis. "You've been all weird since my hunnies told you you were handsome. What's eating ya?" How exactly he expected Lloyd to communicate this, the angel would never know. It wasn't like the sporadic lessons he'd been given were enough for him to spell out more than a few letters. As it was, all he had to do was jab one thumb at his shoulder and the other at the Cathedral's spire, visible over the rooftops from where they sat in front of Zelos's favorite café. The Chosen blinked a few times, his mind working.

"Oh yeah! They said you'd be good-looking when you got older… And you have daddy issues, right?"

Lloyd picked up the knife on the table before him and made a show of testing the tip's sharpness, glaring all the while. Zelos got the hint.

"Sorry, sorry, bad choice of words," he hurried to placate the murderous brunet. Then, looking up and taking another bite thoughtfully, "It's not like they've met him, you know. They were complimenting _you_. Forget about that old man, bud; at least you're well rid of him now."

Lloyd shook his head slowly, jerking his thumb at the spire again. He _wasn't_ rid of… He was going to come in contact with Cruxis again if he continued on the path he'd chosen, to find a cure for their twisted worlds. That meant conflict with the Four Seraphim, which meant con_tact_ with them.

"Huh? Oh, well," Zelos swallowed again and poked at the food on his plate, though he did not take another bite. "Those friends of yours think you're a wolf, right? Let them deal with it. I could tell my voluptuous hunny was itching for the chance to tear him apart anyway."

Lloyd nodded even more slowly. Zelos did not say anything for the rest of his meal, and the afternoon was noticeably stilted after that.

~ ~ ~~ ~ ~

The morning of the third day dawned, and Lloyd left the Vaynier household without so much as a glance in the wardrobe mirror. The day was just more of the same as they traipsed all over the city, doing anything that caught their fancy and continuing their writing lessons. Zelos attempted to teach Lloyd some fighting techniques upon learning (while perusing a weapons shop) that he had never held a blade in his life. The Chosen's efforts were doomed to failure, however, due to this very same fact, and the morning was mainly characterized by Zelos shouting (one-fourth instructional and three-fourths panicked) and Lloyd endeavoring to apologize while still mute.

The 'hunnies' found them, as they always did, and proceeded to worship Zelos, as they always did. To the girls' delight, Lloyd did not skirt away from them this time as long as they kept their touches confined to his free arm (the other being pressed against Zelos's side, as he still refused to relinquish the arm around the shorter boy's shoulders). He still frequently checked the position of the sun, but his mind didn't once stray from the adulation being heaped upon them into more dangerous waters, and he didn't blush once until Zelos ruined it all by winking at him.

By the time he was safely ensconced in 'his' guest room, Lloyd had realized two things. Firstly, it was, for some reason, much easier to accept the women's shallow affections without blushing when Zelos didn't seem to be paying attention to him. And secondly, he would most likely never find out where the lavender scent was coming from short of asking the Chosen himself, which he was _never_ going to do.

It didn't escape his notice that both of these things had to do with the red-haired airhead currently sawing logs contentedly across the room. Understandable, he guessed, since he'd spent the last three days in the man's company, and since he was actively _not thinking_ about… not thinking about anything other than the here and now. Everything else, he had decided, would figure itself out.

It had to. Because he certainly wasn't up to helping it right then.

~ ~ ~~ ~ ~

Sheena left Raine, Genis, and Colette in the ruins of Zelos's mansion while she went out to search for the philandering pervert. The excuse she used on them was that she knew the city better and wouldn't stick out as much. Really, it was because she was worried that Lloyd would be in his human form. It wouldn't do at all for them to see the boy they'd supposedly left in Palmacosta here in the other world. She'd have to remember to tell him to be much more careful now; if he was caught, his secret was out, and that was that.

She navigated the streets at a quick trot, on the lookout for grungy clothes or red hair. Selfish of her, perhaps, since she'd just spent three full days in her company, but she was reluctant to leave Raine all alone in a strange world, the full weight of responsibility for the younger two solely on her shoulders. She cast a quick look down a side-street.

And skidded to a halt, her mouth nearly dropping open in surprise. There was Zelos, an arm casually, companionably, around Lloyd's shoulders. His _wingless_ shoulders. And, crowded around the two of them, a group of twittering fans. As she watched, one reached out to touch Lloyd briefly on the arm. The brunet cast her a wide smile, nodding in response to whatever she'd just said. He seemed relaxed, carefree.

Sheena stormed forward, a cloud descending over her mood and coloring it black. Zelos saw her coming, beaming and waving with abandon.

"Hey, look, bud, it's Sheena! Hel-lo, my hunny! Back so soon?"

"You and I need to have a little talk," the ninja hissed, seizing his upper arm in an iron grip. "_Alone_."

"Your wish is my command," his smile fell slightly, giving it a lopsided air, but he persevered. Sheena turned to Lloyd while the man bid his groupies farewell.

"It's good to see you again," she smiled at him. Lloyd grinned back, and Sheena was extremely relieved to see none of the distant thoughtlessness behind it, like the smiles he'd given to Zelos's admirers. "Why don't you turn wolf and head on back to Raine and the others? They're back at this guy's old house. I just need to discuss a few things with him first, okay?"

Lloyd nodded, his eyebrows slanting together slightly. He slid out from beneath the noble's arm and laid a hand on his Crystal obediently, now that the last of the women had dispersed on their idol's command. Zelos watched with interest. He'd never seen Lloyd transform before, the boy realized. He'd never seen 'Svafnir'. The angel was annoyed to feel a flash of self-consciousness, tinged with regret that his first glimpse was not going to be of a proud wolf, but of a tailless mutt. And who knew what losing his voice had taken from his wolf self this time…

At least there were no embarrassing grunts to give away the pain of the shift this time, without his voice. And maybe the opalescent effect in the white patches of his fur were pretty enough to detract from the fact that his face was screwed up in pain and apprehension. Sheena bit her lip as her eyes ran over her friend's figure.

"Nothing's changed…" she frowned. "How can that—?" Her query was cut off by Lloyd's sudden shake of the head. He lifted a bracleted paw to rub at his eyes frantically. When the appendage was removed, Sheena noticed that his eyes, while usually red when a wolf, had remained chocolate brown.

"You're not colorblind anymore?" she guessed. The wolf nodded stiffly. His gaze moved to Zelos, where it remained, glazing over slightly. Sheena snorted in amusement. Of course, the man was clad exclusively in shades Lloyd hadn't been able to see as a wolf before that moment. She cleared her throat sharply, causing the wolf to jump. He cast her a sheepish look, threw a doggish smile at Zelos, and turned to bound away through the streets.

"So what did you want to talk to me about… _alone_?" Zelos smirked when he had gone.

"Lloyd," she said bluntly, the friendly indulgence draining right out of her expression. "What have you been telling him while I've been gone? When I came in, he was acting like…" _Like you_, she didn't finish. Being with Lloyd, though, had given Zelos practice with reading silences.

"Like me? But of course," he declaimed with a flourish. "You don't just walk away unchanged from three days alone with the Great Zelos Wilder!"

"Listen," Sheena growled, "when I left, that boy was a _zombie_. Now he's laughing and acting like none of that stuff happened!"

"Is it a bad thing for him to have cheered up?" Zelos's tone sobered to match hers.

"No! But it's only been three days…" she shook her head. "Grief like that doesn't just disappear."

"I tried to cheer him up," Zelos shrugged. "That's it. Anything else he's done was his own choice, and nothing to do with either of us. We all have our own ways of coping, hunny."

"You would know," Sheena blew a short, sharp sigh that was almost a laugh and almost a snort. "Still living it up with the fairer sex, I see."

"'Fairer' is in the eye of the beholder," Zelos smirked. "That's what you meant when you said I was good at keeping secrets, isn't it? You're pretty good at that yourself. Our shared secret is still safe, I presume?"

"Of course," Sheena fiddled with the hem of her tunic. Zelos laughed outright.

"Not for long, judging by the way you keep saying '_Raine… _and those others, too'."

"I don't say it like that," the brunette flared. "And you're one to talk, hanging all over Lloyd like that." She deflated. "Maybe we're not so good at keeping secrets, then, huh?"

"Speak for yourself," the Chosen sniffed haughtily. "I was raised among the upper class. Scandalous cover-ups are in my blood."

"And on your skin," Sheena, too, laughed out loud. "I can smell the lavender from over here! When are you going to get over that flower, anyway? I've told you time and again, one day you'll meet someone who knows what it means and finally get an _accurate_ first impression of you."

"I'm not wearing lavender because it means deceit," Zelos said, faux-offended. "That would mean I had something to hide! Which I don't, as we both know." He thumbed his nose, smirking. Sheena rolled her eyes.

"Whatever. The point I was trying to make is this: Thanks for cheering Lloyd up… But stop putting ideas in his head. He's troubled enough as it is."

"Fine, fine," Zelos waved a dismissive hand. "I'll _try_ to tone down my natural awesomeness. But only because it was _you_ asking, my childhood hunny."

"Stop coming up with weird nicknames for me or I'll hit you!"

"_Ow_! But Shee-_na_…! _OW_! Quit it! Alright, alright, I'm sorry! Jeez…"

"_Thank_ you. Now, let's go back, before Ra—Lloyd starts worrying."


	22. On the Road Again

**Kitty: God, these chapters just keep getting shorter and shorter, don't they? Oh, well, if they were any longer you guys would have to wait even MORE between each chapter.**

**Zelos: Fear not, my hunnies! The Masked Handsome Warrior Zelos is here to carry you through the terrible workaday tedium! …Those of you that he can see, at any rate.**

**Kitty: Back to that again? Anyway, the chapter after this one is much longer, so just chew on this li'l thing for a while, and soon you'll have a twenty-pager to slog through!**

**Zelos: And if YearOfTheKitty owned Tales of Symphonia instead of NAMCO, the game might have had week-long timeskips in the middle of it!**

**Genis: It had implied skips, moron. We didn't do all of that stuff in a single afternoon, y'know.**

**Kitty: In any case, enjoy!**

~ ~ ~~ ~ ~

**Chapter Twenty-Two **

**On the Road Again**

"_What you got, what you want, what you need_

_Gonna be your savoir._

_Everything's gonna crash and break."_

—_Skillet, 'Savoir'_

"Svafnir!" Genis flung his arms around the wolf the moment he leaped across the threshold into the ruined house's kitchen. The smoke had long since disappeared, though Genis's hands and hair were dusted with soot from where he'd brushed against blackened walls. Lloyd happily licked his friend's cheek regardless, glad for his lack of taste. Genis shoved him away and scrubbed at his cheek, not quite able to get rid of the grin on his face.

"I'm so glad you're okay! We were really worried when you and Sheena didn't crash in the same place as us… And then when she showed up without you, I thought something really bad had happened," his smile wilted at the memory, turning into a halfhearted scowl. "Don't ever do something like that again, stupid!" Lloyd bowed his head and shuffled his paws beneath the scolding. He hadn't meant to make Genis worry… But he hadn't exactly been thinking about Genis's feelings at the time.

"You still cannot speak?" Raine interjected, curious. Lloyd shook his head, causing Genis to sigh.

"Too bad… Now the only ones I have to talk to are the _lovebirds _over there," he twisted his face. Raine did something extraordinary then. Well, she shrieked and went after her brother with her staff, but that was nothing new. What was strange was the red that colored her face as she did it, partly anger and partly… a blush?

Lloyd wondered exactly what had happened during those three days he'd missed. Whatever it was, Genis had picked up on it, and now Lloyd couldn't really deny it anymore either. Raine and Sheena definitely had crushes on each other. The wolf quickly shoved himself between the Sage siblings, a little bit at a loss. It wasn't that he minded—not at all—it was just… Oh, Spirits, this was going to make things _so_ awkward now…

"Speaking of which, where is Sheena, anyway?" Raine asked coolly. The nonchalant effect was somewhat ruined by her now-mussed hair and hectic flush. Genis snickered, and Lloyd shrugged as best he could while standing on all fours. It was like these people expected him to project his thoughts or something. Why would you ask a mute a question like _that_? He _did_ appreciate that they weren't treating him like he wasn't there or catering to him like an invalid, but… it was irritating.

Speaking of acting like he wasn't there… Lloyd glanced guiltily over at the silent, blonde figure in the corner. Her wings glittered dully, and her head lolled to the side as if it were too heavy for her neck to support. Genis tracked the glance and sobered immediately.

"Yeah… She still isn't responding to anything we say. She fought back when we were attacked by those wolves, but…" he trailed off. Lloyd shuddered before he could help himself. Every time he looked at her, he saw himself in her place, floating like an empty marionette, his eyes blank holes that showed only the back of his head. Nothing there, no spark of life or awareness. Just… blank.

"But, hey, you seem to have cheered up a lot," Genis valiantly attempted to change the subject. "Been having fun while we slogged through the mountains?" Lloyd grinned and rolled his tongue. Genis suddenly frowned. "…Hey, do you look different? There's something weird…"

"What is it?" Raine craned to look at the wolf. Lloyd panicked. They couldn't notice his eyes! In answer, he darted forward and nipped Genis's ankle. While the half-elf yelped, he danced away, spanking the ground with his forepaws. In an instant, Genis was there, and the two went rolling across the blackened tiles, wrestling fiercely. Raine followed them with an indulgent eye, glad to see both of them in such high spirits and immediately dismissing any concerns. Svafnir was just the same as always.

Their play was interrupted by a sudden BANG as the kitchen door flew back on its hinges, collapsing to the ground in a cloud of soot. A figure stood silhouetted in the entrance, hands on hips.

It was _not_ Sheena.

"Well hel-_lo_ there! Sheena didn't mention that all of her friends are as gorgeous as she is!" the unfamiliar man strode into the room… as if he owned the place. While the three aware ones hesitated, flabbergasted, he took the opportunity to snatch up Raine's hand and sweep a low bow, kissing her knuckles. "You must be Raine. I have to say, you are every bit as lovely as she described you to be, my cool beauty!"

"ZELOS!" A purple-booted foot flew out of nowhere, catching the man in the temple and flinging him across the kitchen before Raine had any time to react. Sheena's face was beet red. "Stop hitting on Raine! And don't make things up!" She glanced at Raine and nearly swallowed her tongue, the color in her face darkening a notch. "Not that you're not pretty, I mean—you are! But it's not like I've been talking about you behind your back or anything, especially not to this stupid creep! I mean I _talk_ about you, but it's not like…!"

"…Breathe, Sheena," Raine broke in, mildly. The ninja obediently sucked in a breath, her face nearing the exact hue of a plum. "I'm not upset. Who are you?" She addressed this last to the fallen Zelos. The man sat up, one hand pressed to his face, groaning slightly.

"The Great and Handsome Warrior Zelos, at your service, my lady," he mumbled before falling back again.

"Zelos Wilder, this world's Chosen," Sheena interpreted shortly. "Don't listen to a word he says. Half of it is flirting and the other half is hot air."

"You wound me, Sheena, hunny… Again…"

"…Did he call me gorgeous?" Genis muttered out of the corner of his mouth to Lloyd, his face twisted up. Lloyd sniggered silently. Zelos eyed the two balefully from his position on the floor, apparently overhearing.

"Funny, I didn't see any twerps when I first came in," he commented. With vocalized effort, the Tethe'allan pushed himself to his feet, turning shakily to Colette in the corner. "So this cute little angel must be Colette, huh? The other Chosen. Such terrible things to happen to such a cutie." He shook his head sadly.

"Quit flirting with Colette," Genis snapped. Then, looking down, "…She can't hear you anyway…"

"Which brings us to my next question," Raine folded her arms briskly and looked between Sheena and Zelos. "What are we going to do next?"

"The Imperial Research Academy is under the control of the royal family," the brunette began thoughtfully. "So we'll need permission from the king or the princess before we'll get any help for Colette from them."

"I can get that," Zelos flipped his hair over his shoulder and winked. "When the Great Zelos speaks, His Majesty listens."

"Zelos and I will go speak with the king," Sheena decided. "I need to report my failure anyway, and explain about everything. You all should wait here in the meantime, okay? We won't be long."

"Very well," Raine nodded. "…But, if you make that report… Will you be alright?"

"Don't worry about me," Sheena waved a hand in an attempt at nonchalance that failed utterly. "I'm more worried about reporting it to the Chief…" she muttered.

"We'll be fine," Zelos asserted, sidling up to Sheena and grinning reassuringly at all of them. "I won't let anything happen to my volup—_Sheena_," he corrected himself quickly, seeing her hand lifting. There was already a spectacular bruise beginning to spread across his temple… "Have fun!" He finished brightly, seizing her uplifted arm and dragging the ninja from the room.

Lloyd watched them go, torn between worry and relief. Sheena could talk to the king now about moving the Tethe'allans to Sylvarant… But how well would that go without her Cruxis angel ploy? They knew now that Cruxis was the enemy, but the king didn't. Not that he would have been very convincing as an angel of Cruxis anyway, since he couldn't talk and one of his wings was still broken…

"So…" Genis spoke, looking around the sooty kitchen with the air of someone who was considering whether or not they were bored enough to commit murder just to liven things up yet. "Now what?"

~ ~ ~~ ~ ~

"…Upon receiving the report of Colette's symptoms, we found our attention on the research data regarding the Chosen's Cruxis Crystal," a researcher droned.

"Well, now. So my Crystal was useful. When Colette returns to normal, I'll be expecting some generous thanks," Zelos interjected, smirking. Lloyd regretted that his legs didn't bend the right way for him to kick the Chosen in the shins. He settled for a quick bump with his shoulder.

A week after Zelos and Sheena's talk with the King, the group found themselves in the Imperial Research Academy in Sybak. It had taken several days to hike across the continent and then another full day to cross the Grand Tethe'allan Bridge spanning the sea (which Lloyd shuddered to _think_ of, even now. _Three thousand_ human lives… Like Marble and Noishe and Anna…). Lloyd had spent every night of it as a human to give his wing time to heal, though it was nowhere near fully healed yet. Throughout the journey, Zelos had run amok all but unchecked, due to the noticeable lack of a certain hot-tempered ninja.

Sheena had had to leave them the day they left Meltokio. She had returned to her home village of Mizuho, where she had to report to her Chief and tell him all that had transpired since she had left. Zelos, on the other hand, had been ordered to keep watch over them to make sure they remained in Tethe'alla, thereby preventing them from wreaking any more destruction upon their world with regards to the mana flow (not that Lloyd could think of anything else they _could_ do, now that they'd released every seal…).

Raine had been sullen and withdrawn since then, lacking the will to do more than snap at the garrulous redhead occasionally. Genis had done his best, but in the end, he was only twelve while Zelos had imparted to them that he was twenty. Lloyd lacked the voice to curtail him, and Colette was as lifeless as always. So it was that Tethe'alla's Chosen all but led their group now, trailing them along behind him like a drab tail on a gaudy kite.

"Cruxis Crystals," the researcher soldiered onward, pressing a button on a nearby device so that a translucent, green diagram of a Cruxis Crystal appeared, "are thought to be evolved forms of Exspheres. Both Exspheres and Cruxis Crystals are lifeless beings."

"What did you say?!" Raine snapped, shocked. Lloyd's head jerked down to gape at his Navitus Crystal.

"Lifeless beings," the man repeated. "How should I put it…? Basically, Exspheres are alive, though not in the same way we are."

"Yes," a second researcher chimed in. "Both of these crystals are like parasites fusing with other life forms."

Oddly enough, this comparison made Lloyd relax. He'd known they were like parasites in that they absorbed energy from their hosts. What he'd been afraid of, for a moment, was that they were _aware_. That would be more than he could stand. It was bad enough, using the stolen life force from his mother and… father's friend, but having them _know_ he was doing it…

"When this happens, the mana within the body loses balance and goes out of control without a Keycrest," the first man continued.

"So that's why Exspheres without Keycrests turn people into monsters," Genis murmured, staring at the orb on the back of his hands with a crease between his eyebrows.

"Exactly. In other words, since Cruxis Crystals possess the same qualities as Exspheres, we surmise that Colette is suffering from a parasitical infection by the Cruxis Crystal," the man finished, nodding. Lloyd's eyes traveled to the all-but-comatose blonde, frowning. So that was what was happening, huh? And to him, too.

"I see. In which case, the ritual of releasing the seals may be promoting the fusion with the Cruxis Crystal. Fascinating…" Raine hummed to herself, rubbing her chin. Lloyd nodded, remembering the oppressive, slimy mana he'd felt filling him every time she'd released a seal. That must have been the mana flow reversing… Which then affected his Angelus Project (essentially, a Cruxis Crystal) into sucking more of his humanity out of him.

"Then, if she had a Keycrest, she'd return to normal, right?" Zelos followed the train of thought to its logical conclusion. Lloyd would have slapped his face if he could have. It… It was so _obvious_! Why had none of them thought of it before…? (There was something nudging the back of his mind, but he ignored it, as the researcher had begun to talk again.)

"Yes, she should be able to freely control the Cruxis Crystal if she had a Keycrest," the man nodded again.

"Okay, then!" Zelos clapped his hands. "Next order of business: Find a Keycrest!"

"But none of us knows how to make one, even if we had the inhibitor ore…" Genis pointed out.

"Dirk would know how," Raine said. "But he is in Iselia…

"I can't let you go back to Sylvarant," Zelos reminded them. "Remember? That's the whole reason I'm here with you."

"Come on!" Genis turned pleadingly. "It's for Colette! You can't just let her suffer like this, can you?!" Lloyd attracted the man's attention by pawing at his shin. When the redhead was looking, he unleashed the most pathetic, whimpering, why-do-you-hate-me? puppy dog eyes he'd ever made at anyone, including the times his life had depended on conning someone out of table scraps.

"…Ugh," Zelos groaned and threw back his head so that he didn't have to look at both of them, addressing the ceiling. Only the anatomical limitations of a muzzle kept the triumphant smirk off Lloyd's face. Nobody was immune to his puppy dog eyes. "Fine, fine. But I expect some _serious_ thanks when all this is done, capiche?"

"Yes!" Genis punched the air in triumph. His grinning face fell a moment later, as a large gauntlet closed around his upraised wrist in an iron grip.

"Chosen," the Papal Knight who had a hold of Genis thundered in a voice that echoed around his helmet. A second Knight loomed behind him threateningly. "We heard what you said just now. We hereby declare you and your companions to be traitors attempting to destroy Tethe'alla."

"_Ugh_!" Zelos repeated, throwing up his hands. "I don't _believe_ this! Of all the rotten timing… Have you been watching us or something?"

"By the Pope's orders, we are to be watching you for suspicions of plotting against the throne," the Papal Knight restraining a squirming Genis confirmed.

"…Heh. Now that's amusing," Zelos chuckled and shook his head disparagingly. "_I_'m the one plotting against the throne?"

"Restrain them and take a sample," the Knight ordered his companion. Two more Knights appeared from behind them to seize Raine and Zelos. As the second one went for Colette, the first Knight spoke. "Don't touch the angel! If you approach her carelessly, she'll kill you."

The Knight changed tack immediately, turning to bury his gauntlet in Lloyd's scruff. The other knights produced what appeared to be a few syringes, stabbing them into the Sages' arms.

"…S-Sir!" the Knight behind Raine shouted, staring at his syringe. "We have a match!"

"Here, too," the one with Genis growled. "…So you're half-elves!"

"…Half-elves?!" Zelos yelped, looking between the two of them with wide eyes. "Is that true?"

"…That's right," Raine glared defiantly.

"Raine!" Genis cried out.

"There's no point in trying to hide it now…" she told him, never taking her eyes off the Knight holding her brother.

"These pathetic half-elves have engaged in shameless caste deception," the leading Knight growled, shaking Genis slightly, like a dog with a rat. Lloyd yapped soundlessly, showing his teeth and straining against the hand on his neck. He didn't care that they were half-elves—that was no reason to hurt his friend like that! He wanted to tear into these stupid Papal Knights, and even give Zelos a good, hard nip for the way he was staring at the Sage siblings. "Half-elves guilty of crimes are all executed without exception. Take her away," he added to the one holding Raine as he steered his own prisoner towards the door of the Academy. "We'll return to the bridge and call for reinforcements. As for the Chosen, the mutt, and the angel… just lock them in the basement or something."

~ ~ ~~ ~ ~

Lloyd hit the ground hard, yelping silently. Colette floated past him a moment later, while Zelos merely stumbled slightly as his captor shoved him. The basement door slammed shut behind them, cutting off most of the light in the dim room. Lloyd whipped around to throw himself at it ineffectually.

"Leave it, bud," Zelos told him, rotating his shoulder. "These doors are made to keep things in. Even Colette wouldn't be able to break it down."

"…Who's there?!" Lloyd turned at the scared, startled woman's voice. There was a green-haired half-elf in a lab coat, staring at them timidly from behind oval glasses.

"We're criminals thrown here for safekeeping," Zelos responded sardonically. Lloyd noted that he didn't immediately start drooling over _this_ woman's feet. Because she was a half-elf…?

"Criminals…" the woman sighed. "If you've had the good fortune of being born human, don't throw it away like that…" She adjusted her glasses and squinted. "…Though I see that only one of you really _is_ human…"

"Lloyd here is a human on the inside, aren't you, bud?" Zelos grinned lopsidedly. Lloyd snorted at him and padded forward, the better to sniff at the woman. She stepped back nervously, glancing him over twitchily. Suddenly, she frowned and gave him a slower once-over. She gasped.

"Your dog… has an Exsphere?!"

"Wolf," Zelos corrected. Lloyd instantly almost-forgave him for not hitting on the half-elf researcher. For being racist… No. No, he _didn't_ forgive him. "And from what I hear, it's some kind of Crystal. The Navitus Crystal, they called it."

"Fascinating…" the woman dropped to her knees and peered closer at the diamond-like bracelet. "The shaping of the Keycrest here… And the internal grains and facets of the Crystal… It's not an Exsphere, but it's not a Cruxis Crystal, either…"

"And what would you know of Cruxis Crystals?" Zelos asked. The woman looked up absently, as if she'd forgotten he was there. The effect was so like the first time he'd met Raine (half a year ago now…) that Lloyd jerked back even before he'd registered what she'd said.

"Hmm? Oh. My research team is working on manufacturing Cruxis Crystals inside the human body. Currently, we only have one subject—a girl named Presea. Is this do—wolf one of the other team's projects?"

"No," Zelos shook his head. "He stole it from the Desian leader. But what you said… You can make Cruxis Crystals?"

"Yes. Theoretically, they are no different than Exspheres," she shrugged. "By allowing them to slowly feed on a human body—"

"Whoop!" Zelos lunged forward to wrap his arms around Lloyd's middle and drag the wolf bodily away from the half-elf scientist. Just in time, too, as he had just opened his mouth to bite her. The woman scrambled back in horror as the wolf struggled to reach her, bristling. This woman… how could she talk so callously about human lives?! Couldn't she imagine the horror this test subject—this Presea—must be going through?! What his mother and Noishe and Marble had gone through…

…What Chocolat might be going through now…

"Sorry," Zelos grunted, digging in his heels. "He's a bit touchy when it comes to Exspheres and whatnot, since his mother, granny, sister, and old… friend were all experiments…"

Lloyd bit Zelos for voicing his fears about Chocolat, and for apologizing for his very legitimate anger. The Chosen fell back, clutching his arm and swearing loudly while the woman watched nervously. Lloyd aimed a snarl at her, but didn't attack again.

"_Damn_ it, bud…" Zelos muttered after a long string of invectives. He looked up and smiled, strained, at the scientist. "Pardon my language. Now, my bud here and I really need to be going now, so I don't suppose you've got some sort of escape route…?"

"No," her face hardened. "I won't allow criminals to escape right under my nose."

"We aren't just any criminals, though," Zelos tried to argue. "I'm the Great Chosen! And my bud here is just on his way to save his half-elf friends from execution. Do you have a problem with that? Hmm, Miss Half-Elf?"

"I…" she blanched before steeling herself, her fists clenched. "I don't care how intelligent your dog is. Humans don't make friends with half-elves, why would animals? And _no one_ would save a half-elf."

"Racism works both ways, you know," Zelos commented, examining his fingernails. "_You're_ the only one here insisting half-elves are worthless. _We_ are trying to break out to save two of our _friends_ who are about to be killed unjustly. Your prejudice against your own species is blinding you to what's happening around you."

Lloyd padded forward slowly, keeping his head and ears lowered submissively. He touched his nose to the ground and employed all of the skills Zelos had imparted to him to sketch out a wobbly 'H'. Following that was an 'A', then an 'F', then 'E-L-V-S'. He puzzled over the next bit before swiping his nose in two lines to form a symbol. He continued with 'H-O-M-A-N-S'. Finished, he looked up at the woman and grinned hopefully. Behind him, Zelos started.

"Hey—!" he began to protest. At Lloyd's glare, he subsided, folding his arms and harrumphing. "We have got to work on spelling next…"

"Half-elves are greater than humans?" the woman interpreted, her voice a thread. It was probably the shock of seeing a wolf writing on the floor, he supposed. "You…"

"He wants to go save his friends," Zelos said. The woman hesitated for a few more seconds before her face fell in defeat. She nodded slowly and moved to her desk, where she fumbled around for a few moments. There was a soft click, and a section of the seemingly-solid rock wall slid over to reveal a hidden door.

"You can escape to the surface through the door," she said tiredly.

"Knew it," Zelos beamed. "Old places like this always have hidden escape routes. The trick is finding them. Though, one last thing before we head for the bridge…" he sobered. "By whose order was the experiment on this Presea girl carried out?"

"…I can't say," the woman avoided his gaze.

"The Pope, then," Zelos sighed, as if a suspicion of his had been confirmed. Lloyd nudged him sharply to remind him that they had to hurry. He gently licked the green-haired scientist's hand in thanks while the redhead opened the door. The second the passage was clear, he pelted off into the darkness as quickly as he could go. Colette floated behind him, lighting the way with her wings, and Zelos brought up the rear, his boots clattering on the floor loudly.


	23. Unconvinced

**Kitty: Sorry for the wait! I've been working on an original story of mine for my Creative Writing class, so fanfic got pushed onto the backburner for a while. I'm still not done, but I can't keep you all waiting any longer or my life might be in danger. ^^ **

**Zelos: If you owned Tales of Symphonia, that wouldn't be a problem. But you don't, so I guess you're on your own.**

**Genis: So much for chivalry.**

**Kitty: Oh, don't worry. His attention's just… shifting, I'm sure. ~_^ Enjoy!**

~ ~ ~~ ~ ~

**Chapter Twenty-Three**

**Unconvinced**

"_A walking disaster,_

_The son of all bastards,_

_You regret you made me;_

_It's too late to save me."_

—_Sum 41, 'Walking Disaster'_

Lloyd became aware of a streak of purple out of the corner of his eye as he pounded towards the Grand Tethe'allan Bridge. The very fact that it was purple drew his attention (he was not yet used to seeing the blue/purple spectrum as a wolf). Quick glances, though, refused to reveal its identity, partially hidden as it was by undergrowth and trees. It was only as the undergrowth ended, as he burst onto the surface of the Bridge itself, that he saw it for what it was.

"Lloyd!" Sheena shouted. "Glad to see you got out! Raine and Genis are just ahead!"

"I notice that you're running in the _opposite_ direction of Sybak," Zelos called back, sourly. "Where we were, you know, _locked up_."

"And not facing immediate execution," she shot back.

"I guess, but—!"

"No time!" Sheena's bark cut him off. Lloyd, ignoring the two, redoubled his efforts as he spotted what she had: Ahead of them, a crack appeared to be widening across the surface of the Bridge between them and the group of Papal Knights hustling Raine and Genis towards Meltokio at top speed. Just as he realized what the crack was, the wolf slipped slightly, his paws having hit an irregularity in the Bridge. Or, more specifically, an _incline_.

The center of the Grand Tethe'allan Bridge was a drawbridge.

Sheena said what Lloyd was thinking.

"We'll have to jump it!"

"Are you _nuts_?!" Zelos screamed, his stride faltering. "We'll die if we fall from here!"

"And if we don't try, Raine will die for sure!" Sheena called back. "Genis, too!"

"Aw, _man_…" the Chosen whined, his sense of self-preservation clearly wrestling with his sense of duty. His steps slowed significantly, and even Colette, at the rear, passed him. Lloyd, who was still racing at the forefront of the group, thought he had abandoned them for a moment, before the sound of pounding footsteps met his ears. Zelos pulled up beside the wolf, obviously running as hard as he could. Either his sense of duty had kicked into overdrive, or his sense of self-preservation had realized he'd only die faster if he split off from the others (or possibly both).

The incline beneath their feet was getting steeper by the moment. Lloyd worked his legs harder. They had to reach the gap before it got too steep, or they'd never make it over.

Chocolat had once told Lloyd that she'd read that wolves were known to reach speeds of up to forty miles an hour when chasing prey. Lloyd, at the time, had shrugged and promptly forgotten the figure. It didn't make much difference to him. He couldn't tell how fast he was running _while_ he was running, and even if he could have, it wasn't like the information did him any good.

Now, racing for his friend's life across a rising bridge and hoping that he had enough momentum to carry him over the widening chasm, Lloyd remembered. It still didn't help him.

In mere minutes, he was at the juncture. His paws hit the edge of the bridge and continued out into nothing. His legs stretched out in front of him, grasping for the other edge. The very tip of one paw scraped the edge of the bridge, and then everything was just air, with nothing solid to hold on to in sight. Lloyd tumbled end over end, tossed along by the wind currents. He could almost feel the ghost of his wings stretching out to either side of him, catching the air and lifting him back up. But they were only ghosts. He didn't have wings as a wolf…

The screams of Sheena and Zelos echoed around Lloyd as he attempted to contort mid-air to bring his paw to his nose. His secret didn't matter. He had to save them. A little voice in the back of his mind whispered that he would never be able to carry two young adults at once, but he shoved it away. He _would_ do it, somehow.

…If only he would stop spinning so he could get his damn paw to his damn nose!

The tone of Sheena's screams changed somewhat. Lloyd saw the blur that was the world spinning around him begin to slow, and finally come to a stop completely. He glanced around dazedly. It didn't _sound_ like he was underwater… And he was still breathing… So… he'd stopped mid-air?

The blur of colors settled around him until Lloyd became aware that he was upside-down, midway between the Grand Tethe'allan Bridge and the surface of the sea. And that he was slowly being lifted back up onto the bridge. A glance to the side showed Sheena and Zelos also ascending via the same means. Which was a tentacle of water wrapped around their middles. Lloyd didn't need to follow the arms of liquid down to their source to know that Sheena's Summoning arts had saved them. That Undine had saved them.

Of course, she'd saved _them_, but Lloyd could still see Genis and Raine being pulled away by the Knights, across the bridge. Sheena shouted a hurried thanks to the Summon Spirit over her shoulder as they were put down on the bridge, the three racing off in pursuit (once more) of their captured friends. It was only moments before the two groups met, the Papal Knights turning and drawing their swords for battle.

There wasn't much of a battle to speak of. Lloyd had noticed that Zelos's preferred fighting style was quite similar to that of… was quite familiar, and it seemed that he was just as skilled as… was _very skilled_ too. (This not-thinking thing was a lot more difficult in practice than it was in theory. The problem with running away was that your legs got just as tired running as your arms would have fighting.) Combined with Sheena's unusual ferocity, Colette's angelic strength, and Lloyd's borderline-uncontrollable rage, the Knights were taken out with ease.

The moment they were down, Lloyd got to work gnawing on the ropes around Genis's wrists. Zelos took over sawing away Raine's bonds, so, of course, the professor was freed much more quickly than her younger sibling. Sheena, hovering anxiously in the background, got a bad shock when the half-elf's first action upon being released was to stride over to the ninja and pull her in for a kiss.

A bit of drool leaked out between Lloyd's jaws as he froze in the awkward position of chewing rope. Genis began to make the most incredible noises he'd ever heard from a human being (or, half-elf, in this case) in his life. They were quite extraordinary, actually (something like the hiss of air rushing from a punctured balloon coupled with the spluttering noises of a partially-dammed brook, with the sharp squeaks of a demented mouse underlying it all) and Lloyd was later regretful that he hadn't paid closer attention to them for blackmail purposes. As it was, he was tempted to make the same noises himself. Both of them whirled around to face the other direction, eyes fixed and staring and limbs twitching spasmodically.

All of this was made even more amazing by the fact that Raine pulled away not ten seconds later, having merely pecked the other girl quickly.

"Next time," the teacher said, "report to your chief _quickly_."

"I… I… I…" Sheena stuttered.

"I think you broke her," Zelos observed, the only one among them bearing no signs of a blush (other than Lloyd, of course—though he knew that if he had been human he would have been as red as a tomato—and Colette, for obvious reasons).

"I…p- promise," the Summoner shook her head sharply, finishing weakly. "Are you all right, R-Raine?"

"We're fine," she said shortly. "I am more concerned with the two of you, though. Now that you know, have your opinions of us changed?"

"Never!" Sheena declared quickly. Then, a bit more thoughtfully, she added, "I've always felt some sympathy for half-elves. We of Mizuho aren't exactly mainstream, either. Always hiding, always mistrusted… We're not that different."

"…To tell you the truth," Zelos blew a noisy sigh, placing his hands on his hips and staring off to the side uncomfortably, "I can't say I'm really kosher with this."

It was unfortunate for the redhead that, at that moment, Genis's bonds fell away with frayed, damp edges. Lloyd paced slowly towards the Chosen with raised hackles, silently snarling. Zelos jumped backwards quickly, one hand flying to the red mark on his arm where he'd found out exactly how sharp the wolf's teeth were not that long ago.

"Then again," he added, "people have always treated me differently, saying I'm a descendant of angels. So in a way we're a lot alike." It was a feeble echo of Sheena's reasons, they all knew. Zelos's 'different' treatment had been nothing like the Sages'. Even so, Lloyd relaxed, a slight smile working its way onto his face. Zelos was a prejudiced racist… but he was trying. He was making an effort not to think differently of the half-elves despite his upbringing… for his friends.

Maybe there was hope for him after all.

~ ~ ~~ ~ ~

Sheena had, apparently, been sent to keep tabs on the Sylvarant group by her village's chief. This statement had been met with scorn from Zelos, who declaimed it as typical of Mizuho. There was no argument on Sheena's part when he accused them of hesitating to choose sides.

In any case, Raine soon brought them back on track. They still had to return to Sylvarant to see Dirk about a Keycrest for Colette, which required the use of the rheiards, the remains of which were currently lying atop the Fooji Mountains and the foundations of Zelos's house. It was decided to salvage the remains from the mountains and see if they couldn't be repaired before any definitive plans could be made, though Raine did suggest they consider making a pact with Volt to power them in the absence of mana. Sheena, for some reason, visibly paled at this, but nonetheless agreed that it was their best option. When doubt was expressed as to their ability to move the vehicles, Zelos thumbed his nose and claimed that he had prepared a 'secret weapon' in case this happened.

It was four days later that the group found themselves shoving through a thin screen of bushes to reveal a grassy shelf in the mountainside, the ground marred by two long, black scorch marks in the grass. Lloyd padded forward beside Tethe'alla's Chosen, his nose twitching. There hadn't been fire here for a while—an exact estimate of time was impossible, since any smoke had dispersed long before he had arrived to smell it. He could see the silhouettes of the fallen aircraft where they perched on the very edge of the shelf, their sides blackened and dented, though in much better repair than the scattered chunks of metal that were all that remained of his and Sheena's craft. Even damaged, they looked huge, immovable, _heavy_. Lloyd eyed Zelos askance, wondering what exactly the man had hidden up his sleeves (literally, for the wolf hadn't seen him pack anything unusual into his satchel in Meltokio…).

"Hey, Zelos," Genis piped up, echoing Lloyd's thoughts, though more mockingly than the wolf would have said them. "How are we going to carry these?"

"Oh, I'll show ya," the man thumbed his nose yet again, infuriating the little mage. Zelos flipped his hair over his shoulder and strode towards the wreckage with his nose in the air, casting a smirk over his shoulder. "Come over here for a sec."

"Grr… you…" Genis fumed and ran forward. Raine jerked after him, clearly meaning to intervene before things got violent. Sheena was, as always, hard on her heels, leaving Lloyd and Colette to bring up the rear.

Which was why neither of them were caught when the walls of light suddenly slid upwards, out of the ground, to form a luminescent cube around the other four.

Lloyd stopped dead, snarling in surprise. Colette halted as well. Inside the cube, Genis jerked around, a startled cry tearing its way from his lips. Raine and Sheena were instantly on their guard, staff and arms raised respectively. Zelos looked around wildly for a second before the situation seemed to dawn on him and he pulled out his sword, far too late to be of any use.

"You've walked right into my trap, fools!" The sudden voice was not unfamiliar to Lloyd. Neither was the caped figure that stepped out from behind the very ruins they had come to see. Lloyd growled silently.

Yuan.

"…He just called you a fool," Genis snickered at Zelos. The red-haired man whined and slumped.

"This time, you're mine, dog," Yuan strode forward with a sneer on his lips, ignoring them. Lloyd crouched in preparation to spring. How had he not smelled the Renegade waiting for them? The answer came in the form of a gust of wind. Of course… It was sweeping along the shelf towards the rheiards. That was why he hadn't smelled any smoke, even though the vessels were covered in soot.

Of course, the wind's direction meant that when someone appeared behind him, he knew without having to look at Yuan's faltering surprise. He half-spun, trying to keep both of them in his view. A glimpse from the corner of his eye was all he needed to identify the newcomer. No one else had a cloak quite like that…

"Oh?" Pronyma, apparently also surprise, paused. "Lord Yuan. What brings you to this place?"

"I should ask you the same, Pronyma!" Yuan composed himself with his usual sneer. "The role of you Desians is to wreak havoc upon the declining world!"

"I have come here on Lord Yggdrasill's orders to retrieve Colette," the Grand Cardinals' Leader turned to the hovering angel. "Please, turn her over to me."

"Fine. But in exchange for handing over the Chosen, I am taking custody of Svafnir. I trust you have no objections?" the blue-haired man was already moving forward as he spoke, one of his hands drawing what appeared to be a muzzle from a hidden pocket in his cape. He was forestalled, however, by Pronyma's regretful shake of the head.

"Forgive me, but I cannot allow that. My orders were to capture both the Chosen and the dog and bring them back to Lord Yggdrasill—or, more specifically, Martel's vessel and his Navitus Crystal." Yuan's snarl deepened.

"What if," he spat, "you were to take the Crystal and I the dog? That way Lord Yggdrasill gets what he wants, and so do I."

"I…" Pronyma began. At that moment, yet another scent appeared on the mountain shelf, this one as painfully familiar to Lloyd as the first two. No, much more painful than that… He didn't bother to turn and face the new threat, instead keeping his gaze split between Pronyma and Yuan as the primary enemies.

"…What are you doing here?" Yuan snapped.

"Leave, Yuan," Kratos replied. "Lord Yggdrasill has summoned you."

"Grr… Are you taking the Chosen?" the Renegade actually growled, his fists clenched and his focus distinctly _not_ on either Chosen.

"Yes. You are no longer needed, Pronyma," he added. "I will take care of things here."

"As you wish, my lord," she deferred. The Desian Leader disappeared in the same way she had come. Yuan smirked at Kratos, his previous fury wiped away by whatever new scheme had entered his head.

"I'll see you in Welgaia, then, my friend," he said. It hardly surprised Lloyd at this point when segmented, glowing pink mana-wings (like those of a housefly, to Kratos's dragonfly and Colette's butterfly) burst from his back, allowing him to throw himself off the shelf and soar away until he was a mere dot in the sky. Now Lloyd was forced to turn and face the one person he had no desire to ever look in the face again.

"Kratos!" Sheena, within the cage, barked. "Why are you here?"

"You heard me," Kratos said blandly. "I have orders to retrieve the Chosen and… Svafnir."

"Leave them alone!" Genis threw himself at the wall of the cage angrily.

"…Hey, Mister Cruxis Angel," Zelos spoke calmly, smirking and crossing his arms. "How ya gonna take both of them at once, huh?"

"…That is a problem," Kratos agreed with an invisible smile: a facial expression that was exclusive to Kratos alone. "I suppose I shall merely have to take one and report my failure to Lord Yggdrasill."

"How does that _help_ us, blockhead?!" Sheena shouted hysterically at Zelos. He shrugged in a ripple of crimson.

"Well, we'll have one more person on our side when we mount a rescue, for one," he grinned thinly. Kratos acknowledged him with a sharp nod before turning his gaze to the defensive ball of fur before him.

"We will be waiting, won't we, Svafnir?" he lunged forward before either the wolf or the angel could move, wrapping his arms around the canine's middle and hauling him into the air with apparent ease. Angelic strength…

Immediately, the Seraph threw himself after Yuan, his wings easily taking the extra load in stride. Or… beat. Each flap of the powerful limbs sent them rocketing forward, and the ledge had disappeared behind them in no time at all.

"I don't suppose you realize the position I've just put myself in for your sake," Kratos sighed heavily. Lloyd inspected the mountains beneath them and would not have answered even had he been able. The angel made a noise of realization. "Forgive me. I had forgotten that you lost your voice. I have a Keycrest for you. I'll put it on as soon as we get there; you will need a voice to explain to me what in the seven hells you've been playing at for all these months."

Oddly enough, there was not a hint of anger in Kratos's voice as he uttered this last. Lloyd attributed it to the weeks he'd had to put it all together. Explaining was merely a formality at this point. He was sure the man had put the pieces together fairly quickly once that one, crucial part of the puzzle had been filled in. Instead, the wolf twisted in his (denounced) father's grip to eye him warily. Kratos noted the gaze and frowned a bit.

"You want to know where 'there' is?" he guessed. Lloyd nodded. Kratos's frown smoothed out as he answered. "We are going to Welgaia, the City of Angels—Lord Yggdrasill's headquarters."

~ ~ ~~ ~ ~

Lloyd had to give the man credit: Kratos was efficient. Immediately upon their appearance in Welgaia, the wolf was dumped to the floor. With the same swiftness that had, up until now, kept Lloyd from resisting capture, the Seraph yanked a length of rope from out of nowhere, looping the end three times around his muzzle and then twice around his neck. Lloyd jerked back, a split second too late, throwing his head from side to side in a vain attempt to free himself. He only later came to appreciate that this was a necessary disguise to keep up the prisoner/captor illusion among the angels they passed on their way through Welgaia. At the time, he simply dug in his paws, thrashed around, and generally did his best to make the journey (or, drag) miserable for Kratos. And he had thought it was humiliating posing as _Raine's_ prisoner…

Luckily, the trip was short. Lloyd had only just begun to wonder if they were making for the big castle dominating the skyline when Kratos suddenly veered to the side, pressing his hand to what appeared to be an unmarked stretch of wall. A section of it slid backwards, revealing itself to be a concealed door. The Seraph led the protesting canine into the room, the door sliding shut with a slight whirring noise behind them. Lloyd quieted for a moment, taking in the room before him with a startled blink.

It was a… house. A small one, yes, but unmistakably a house. Kratos took advantage of his abrupt docility, hustling the wolf through the small kitchen and into what appeared to be a sitting room. Lloyd could see a shut door off to the side, leading to what had to be a bedroom.

The wolf turned and looked at Kratos, one ear twisted back. The angel, surprisingly, shrugged.

"I couldn't very well _tell_ you that I had a house in Welgaia before," he said. "Besides which, it does not have a basement anyway." Then, seeing Lloyd's expression, he cleared his throat and looked away. "…At least, I assume that that is what you were attempting to ask. I have had practice interpreting canine expressions over the course of my lifetime, though I have not had to for the last fourteen years." And then, cementing his status as a mind-reader in Lloyd's eyes, the man took one look at his face before rolling his eyes to the ceiling and reminding him, "Noishe, Lloyd, was an arshis with human intelligence—meaning capable of understanding human speech if not responding in kind—and also my companion."

Lloyd nodded slowly, seeing the sense in that. Still, it had startled him. Even Zelos wasn't able to read his silent questions so accurately.

Thinking of Zelos, however, reminded the wolf-boy where he was and in what position. Immediately, both of his ears were flattened against his skull, his muzzle wrinkling beneath the coils of rope. For a few minutes there, he'd almost _forgotten_… Kratos returned his gaze to the bound animal and sighed slightly.

"I apologize for binding you so, but it was necessary," he rummaged around in his pocket for something. After a moment, he withdrew it and held it out to Lloyd, a glint of gold light flashing. "Am I going to have to keep you tied up to put this on you?"

The answer was clear. Lloyd had _no intention_ whatsoever of going along with this 'talking things out' plan that Kratos seemed to have. He had _nothing_ to say to him. As a matter of fact, only a supreme effort of willpower was keeping the wolf inside him from tackling the Seraph to the ground right then and clawing his face off. That willpower, however, purposefully let the wolf invade the fringes of his mind, wiping them blank of all conflicting thoughts and feelings. Ironically, it helped him keep better control of himself. Kratos either used his supernatural canine-reading abilities or noticed that Lloyd's legs were trembling, because he sighed and tightened his grip on the makeshift leash.

"In that case, I have no choice but to…" he began. Interrupting himself, the man simultaneously yanked on the leash and dove forwards himself. Lloyd stumbled forward, right into Kratos's arms, one of which wrapped itself around his neck in a headlock while the other snaked down to grasp at his paw. Lloyd jerked around wildly, realizing what he was going for.

_No, no, no, nononono!_ He shouted inwardly. Not his Crystal! Not the white Exsphere on his wrist! In all of his seventeen years of life, in _all that time_, he had never _once_ removed that Exsphere. He _bathed_ with it on for the Spirits' sakes! _Nonono_, _don't make me take it off_…!

But Kratos was determined to put that Keycrest on Lloyd and have his little 'talk'. It had to go on his _blue_ Exsphere. And since that Exsphere was hidden when Lloyd was a wolf, the only way Kratos could see to change him back was to take off his Navitus Crystal. His canine telepathy misinterpreted Lloyd's struggles—thinking them to stem from the wolf's hatred of him rather than panic over his intentions—and his fingers closed around the diamond-like pendant within moments.

And pulled it off.

Kratos shut his eyes, but even so he could still see the searing flash of rainbow-white light. Even after he'd opened his eyes, he was blinded for several seconds by a bluish afterimage. The wolf in his arms fell still and stiff for a moment, before there _was_ no more wolf in his arms. He grasped air for a few moments before he became aware that there _was_ something in his arms, but it was no long the same size or shape.

And, in that moment, he realized that his arms had tightened to match the new shape, though they had not changed in placement.

Meaning that he was strangling his son.

Kratos leaped backwards, propelled by his own horror as well as by the sudden surge of flapping wings. Lloyd scrambled backwards along the floor, his face slack with panic and horror. Kratos followed the wide brown gaze down to the bracelet gripped in his hand. And only then did the significance of what he'd done begin to sink into his mind.

Of course, a moment later Lloyd had thrown himself on the man, kicking and punching and grabbing for his lost Crystal. Kratos grunted, holding the thing out of reach while his other hand planted itself on the boy's chest. Lloyd jerked back, too late realizing what he'd done. His own movement tore the Angelus Project from his chest.

Kratos forced himself not to notice as the boy doubled over in pain, one hand gripping his collar while the other curled around to his shoulders, as if his wings, too, were in pain. The man focused on slipping the necklace chain over Lloyd's bowed head and popping out the blue sphere so that he could instead mount it in the Keycrest he had prepared for this moment.

To say that Lloyd was in pain was a bit of an understatement. It was nothing like the slimy, dizzy, nauseating pain he always felt at the Seals. It wasn't like the all-over throbbing ache of transforming from wolf to human and back. It was more akin to lightning dancing over his skin—more external than internal. It was mostly concentrated in his chest and shoulders, in his wings. And his wings, his _wings_… They jerked uncontrollably, feathers flying everywhere, feeling as if someone was scraping the very skin off of them with a dull knife.

Strong hands clamped down on his shoulders, pulling him up so that something could be pressed to his heaving chest.

True to Lloyd's luck, of course, the pain did the exact opposite of diminishing, and ratcheted up from 'agonizing' to 'unbearable'. Lloyd fell to the floor, his entire body jerking now, a scream ripping its way from his throat.

The sound startled him so much that he shut up quickly. He lay still, panting, for a few moments. He gradually came to realize what had happened. The pain hadn't _increased_, per se, but it had morphed into something different. It took Lloyd nearly ten minutes to realize that what he was feeling was _air_ on his skin. Everywhere, everywhere, pressing and sliding whenever he moved. Air had never seemed so _heavy _before he'd become an angel… And that blunt, pressing 'pain' on his front was the floor on which he was lying. It was solid and unyielding, a stark contrast to moments ago when he seemed to have been floating in midair for all the effect the floor had on him.

Soon after his breakthrough with the air and the floor, other, littler, sensations made themselves known. The scratch and folds of his own clothes on his skin… His breath rasping in and out of his body… His wings sprawled out to either side of him, the feathers itchy where they touched his shoulders and arms… His hair tickling his forehead and neck…

Kratos's hands pressing urgently on his wings, trying to arrange them so he could flip the boy over…

Lloyd, feeling this last, pressed his palms to the floor and pushed himself up, jerking away from the man's touch. The movement elicited a starburst of pain from his wing, which was still broken from his rheiard crash over a week ago. The boy gritted his teeth to keep back a scream, but Kratos noticed the look on his face. Or maybe it was the way his wing flopped around uselessly below the break… (He had long since cut slits in the back of his shirt, and taken to the habit of tying his jacket around his waist before switching to a wolf so that when he turned back it would still be there, and his wings wouldn't just rip through both layers of clothing.)

"You're hurt?" he demanded. Lloyd glared but didn't answer, one hand migrating to his shoulder. Kratos cast a healing spell regardless, watching Lloyd's body relax slightly as the pain left him, the smooth curve of his unbroken wing restored.

Lloyd, for his part, missed the relief on Kratos's face as he spun away, crossing his arms over his chest and staring moodily at the floor, his lips pressed shut. He forced himself to stop marveling over his returned tactile sense. There would be time enough for that later. Right now, he had another problem to deal with.

He was _not_ going to talk with Kratos. He didn't have a _single word_ to say, whether the man had healed his wing or not. Kratos tried, a hand on his shoulder, to turn the boy around, but Lloyd flinched away, curling his knees to his chest and keeping his gaze resolutely on the floor. It didn't matter that he could feel the warmth from his fa—from Kratos's palm even now that it was gone. He didn't care. And he wasn't going to be manipulated into talking.

"Lloyd, I'm sure you must be upset with me," Kratos said, exasperated. Lloyd barely withheld a snort. Upset? _Upset_? He'd been upset when Genis had ruined his dinner the first day they met. He'd been upset when he'd had to lie across Sheena's lap to ride the dragon. He was _not_ upset.

"But I can explain all of that later. Right now, I want to know about _this_." Lloyd wasn't looking at him, but the inflection made it clear that Kratos had just indicated the bracelet still in his hand in some way. Lloyd clamped his teeth together, relishing in the feel of it. He hadn't paid attention to the way muscles in his _forehead_ moved when his teeth clenched before. And he'd never had the opportunity to feel his wings fluff up like a threatened songbird trying to make itself look bigger before, either. It was tickly and warm enough that Lloyd didn't even bother to feel embarrassed by the involuntary movement because it felt so nice.

Kratos sighed sharply. "All right, then, if you are going to act this way, I suppose I cannot blame you. Although I do owe you an apology…"

Lloyd's resolution broke in a moment. He'd never been the 'shut up and take it' type anyway, but that sentence broke through every illusion he'd put up of having nothing to say. Now he had so much to say that the words were pressing against his throat and chest and stomach so hard that he dug his nails into his arms in an effort to quell the feeling. The words still clamored in his head and on his tongue, begging for release. He had more to say to Kratos than a lifetime would allow him.

But his resolve not to try had been broken as well.

"An _apology_?!" Lloyd whipped around, his teeth bared and his eyes flashing. "You think an _apology_ can fix this? Don't even try! _Don't_. Any attempt to _apologize_ and make this better is only going to make me hate you _even MORE_. I already hate you so much it hurts! So just _SHUT UP!" _He loosened his grip on his arms in satisfaction when he saw Kratos physically flinch with every sentence.

"…I didn't think it would fix anything," he finally said. "I was not even speaking of that. I meant that I owed you an apology for not giving you a Keycrest sooner and relieving you of your suffering."

Lloyd harrumphed and flapped his wings slightly. "But I guess Colette can just rot in hell, huh? Doesn't surprise me a bit."

"The Chosen's fate is regrettable, but necessary," Kratos stated flatly. "But there was no reason for you to share her pain. _She_ had accepted what would happen to her long ago."

"What you would do to her, you mean," Lloyd corrected, uncrossing his arms so that he could ball them into fists at his sides. "You… you really _don't_ give a damn about anyone besides yourself, do you?" he demanded incredulously. Sure, the betrayal had been a big hint that Kratos was a selfish bastard, but it really hadn't sunk in yet. That level of apathy was just inconceivable to Lloyd. It didn't help that Kratos had been such a good actor.

"I cared about Anna," Kratos replied. "And I cared about Noishe. And I care about _you_. Nobody else matters."

"Of course they do!" Lloyd actually leaped to his feet at that, his voice rising. "Bastards like you and monsters like me are _nothing_! Colette, Sheena, Raine, Genis, Zelos, Chocolat, Cacao, Marble, Clara… people like _them_ matter. People like _them_ matter enough to _die_ for. How are you so _blind_…?!" Lloyd choked, unable to express what he was thinking.

Colette's sacrificial kindness… Sheena's unwavering, fierce friendship… Raine's fierce passion in the face of something she truly loved… Genis's frantic fury against injustice and racism… Zelos's haste to make peace with someone he didn't like… Chocolat's maternal protectiveness towards a bullied boy her own age… Cacao's indulgent love… Marble's wicked teasing… Clara's martyred inspiration…

Lloyd didn't understand it. He didn't want to understand how these things meant nothing to someone. How someone—anyone—couldn't see what treasures they were, couldn't see that beyond stars, beyond bread, beyond Spirits, _this_ was what made Sylvarant and Tethe'alla worth living in.

"That attitude will only hurt you in the end, Lloyd," Kratos's words were sympathetic, but his voice was numb. "I know it's hard, but if you allow yourself to become attached to these people, it will only hurt more when they are torn away… or when they leave voluntarily. Did Chocolat teach you nothing?"

Lloyd dropped his gaze, remembering. Kratos had realized by now the full impact of that rejection. He'd accurately picked up on it as the one greatest wound in Lloyd's past.

And he'd just knowingly ripped that wound wide open.

"It hurt," Lloyd allowed. "It hurt so bad I thought I'd die… But one thing you said or one thing you did doesn't mean you never said or did anything else. I'm still going to find her and save her, and then… then I'll leave and never see her again if that's what she wants. That's how much she matters to me."

"Then you're a hypocrite as well as a fool," Kratos's calm finally snapped, his words a growl. "The one thing I did erased everything else I did for you in your mind. What makes her any different from me?"

"Jealous, _Kratos_?" Lloyd curled his lip. "You're different because the one thing you did was _make_ everything else you'd done a lie! You didn't change your mind; you'd been that way from the start! You'd been planning to kill us _long_ before you pretended to _care_!"

"I wasn't pretending!" Kratos spread his hands helplessly. "I do care about you, Lloyd. You're my _son_."

"NO!" Lloyd clapped his hands over his ears. "I'm NOT!"

"You ARE!" Kratos reached out and dug his fingers into Lloyd's shoulders, shaking him a little to drive the point home. "You can deny anything you want, but you can't deny THIS."

"Why not?!" Lloyd jerked out of his hold, snarling. "I never needed a father. I definitely don't need _you_."

"I'm not getting through to you, am I?" Kratos sighed. "I wasn't pretending to love you, Lloyd. I do. I'm not sorry that I betrayed your friends. I'm not even sorry that I betrayed _you_… because I _didn't_. Because absolutely _nothing_ between us has changed."

"Like hell it hasn't!" Lloyd honestly couldn't believe what he was hearing. "I HATE you! You're trying to KILL the people I just told you I'd gladly die for! What about this isn't getting through to _you_?"

"The part where you lied to the people you claim to care so much about for over six months now," Kratos rebutted. "How you lied to _me_ in the same breath you used to call me 'Dad'. Where is your logic in that?"

"My logic is being proven right now," Lloyd subsided to a sulky grumble. Damn, he'd lost his temper. If he lapsed back into silence now, Kratos's fury would know no bounds. He'd already demonstrated his capacity for physical violence against Lloyd when angered, even if he apologized afterwards. And this time, Lloyd would feel it.

Besides which, it had only just occurred to Lloyd that the only reason this conversation was even taking place was to satisfy Kratos's curiosity. If he clammed up and refused to talk, Kratos would have no reason not to turn him over to Yggdrasill immediately. That was why he'd been captured in the first place, after all. And who knew what Yggdrasill would do to him… Talking meant he could put off finding that out, at least for a few more hours. And maybe if Kratos became distracted enough, the opportunity to escape would present itself…

So fine. He'd talk.

"I'll need a bit more reason than that," Kratos folded his arms.

"I wandered for most of my life, stealing and begging," Lloyd spat out the words unwillingly, glaring off to the side, his gaze nearly burning a hole through the metal wall. "In fourteen years, do you really think I kept this secret from the whole of Sylvarant? I couldn't keep it from Sheena for a few _weeks_… Though there were extenuating circumstances in that case."

"Who else knows?" Kratos sat bolt upright, his tone urgent and his hands falling to his sides. Unbeknownst to Lloyd, the man's thoughts had just kicked into panicked overdrive. The Renegades were everywhere, had spies everywhere… If they talked to the wrong person—or the right person, depending on how you looked at it—and discovered that 'Svafnir' was Lloyd, the results could be disastrous. Even if they didn't know of Lloyd's connection to Kratos, he could easily be captured simply for being an angel… And the whole truth could easily be pieced together if one of them recognized the Angelus Project or saw the boy's resemblance to Kratos… And even besides the Renegades, if the _Desians_ somehow figured it out, the same scenario could be repeated with one crucial difference: Lloyd wouldn't be captured, he'd be _recruited_, or possibly simply held prisoner to ensure Kratos's good behavior.

Lloyd, however, put a halt to all of that when he reluctantly answered. "Cacao and Chocolat. Chocolat's dad and Marble, too, but they're gone now. Sheena knows—she's been helping me keep it secret from the others. Other than that, no one's quite figured out that the wolf is me—that's a real leap to make—but they've noticed small things here and there to connect me to 'it' and… well, humans aren't the most accepting people of abnormality," he laughed shortly. "Even if they didn't notice anything odd about me and 'Svafnir', simply being a wild wolf or a beggar-thief was enough reason to be run out of town on a rail. Which brings me to why I kept it secret…"

"You were scared of being rejected by your friends," Kratos nodded slowly. "That is understandable, at first, but six months later…?"

"Six months later I looked like an angel," Lloyd growled shortly. "I couldn't tell them then even if I'd wanted to. How could I explain to them that I was an angel that could turn into a wolf, and that I'd only recently become an angel because of a Desian project that I bought off a jeweler in Triet?"

"What?" Kratos blinked.

"O-Oh, right," for the first time, Lloyd's hostility faltered, and he looked sheepish. "I didn't know what my blue Exsphere was when I was younger, and I didn't want to equip two Exspheres, so I pawned it for money in Triet. After I found out it had been Mom's, I bought it back. I was actually cursing the jeweler for charging so much when we first ran into each other…"

"I remember," Kratos nodded again, looking enlightened. "I don't forgive you, but I suppose you had your reasons for lying, even if they are shakier than the Chosen's sense of balance…"

"Exactly."

"…But what I fail to understand is how you can be such a hypocrite without realizing it," Kratos finished calmly. Lloyd's mouth fell open, his protest dying in his throat. "Don't you see what you are doing? You are hiding your true self from your friends for selfish reasons. Eventually, you will be found out. And then they will most likely be furious with you for the deception, hurt and betrayed. They might even _attack _you on impulse, or possibly even _disown_ you right then and there, convinced that they hate you, and they might even feel so angry and betrayed that they refuse to speak to or about you initially…"

"Okay, okay, I may be uneducated, but I'm not _stupid_," Lloyd snarled, the words hitting home. "I get it. The 'you're no better than me' speech. I _know_. But it's a little late for me to change, isn't it? And I'm not _convinced _I hate you, I really do."

"As you wish," Kratos snorted disbelievingly. "Though if that is truly the case, I must wonder why you are not currently attempting to kill me again…"

"…I hate you," Lloyd repeated, the sharp lines of his face softening so slightly that even Kratos couldn't quite tell if it was a trick of the light or not, "but I'm not going to kill you."

"Who will?" Kratos asked blandly. Lloyd's face sharpened again, glaring at him pointedly.

"Sheena. Raine. Genis. Maybe Colette," he bit off each name as if he didn't like the taste of it.

"Leaving it all to your friends?" Kratos chuckled humorlessly, shaking his head. "I suppose it makes sense considering your past, even if I do find your lack of responsibility utterly deplorable…"

"Oh, shut up," Lloyd snapped. "I had to learn how to act from _someone_ and it's not like _you_ were there." That was a low blow and he knew it. But it was _not _regret he felt at the man's barely perceptible wince. No, that was just the death rattle of his sense of decency. A life of thieving hadn't been able to kill it, but the look on Kratos's expressionless face was strangling it as surely as a noose (and he knew firsthand how surely nooses strangled). He was _grateful_ for that. Yes, he was. Good riddance to it.

"And from whom, pray tell, did you learn to run from your duty?" Kratos snarled, collecting himself. "I didn't notice this cowardice when you threw yourself at Ktugach with your bare teeth. I didn't see you shrugging and giving up when there was a _noose_ around your neck. What happened?"

"Zelos," Lloyd said with some satisfaction. It was his first time speaking the name. It left a pleasant buzz on his tongue, followed by a satisfying hiss. He decided that he like Zelos's name. "He helped me deal. He showed me that there are some things you can just let other people deal with. And it was the best lesson I could have learned," he smiled a small, savage smile. "Finally, my stupid conscience is taken care of."

"Congratulations," Kratos drawled. "I'm sure that was quite the hindrance to stealing." Really, he wasn't all that surprised by his son's words. That lesson sounded _just _like the kind of thing Zelos would spout off to 'comfort' someone. It was, after all, the motto he lived by. And it sounded like just the kind of thing Lloyd's emotionally damaged hero-complex would lap up to salve the wound of failure.

"It was," Lloyd agreed, "but now it's gone. Do you know," he changed demeanor abruptly, looking almost sad now. It was the calmest he'd been since they'd begun talking, "that I've failed in everything significant I've ever tried to accomplish? I'm a walking _disaster_. I bet even my _birth_ was an accident, right? Why else would you have a kid while on the run from the world? … You know what? It doesn't matter. Someone else can deal with all of this because I'm too tired and I'd just screw it up anyway."

"You're not a…" Kratos began.

"Screw-up? Count them: protecting Marble. Protecting Genis. Protecting Cacao. Protecting Palmacosta. Killing Magnius. Saving Chocolat. Kiling Magnius again. Trusting Dorr. Not noticing Kilia's death. Saving Clara. Learning to fly. Protecting Luin. Protecting the children. Killing Kvar. Saving Tethe'alla. Saving Colette."

"…That's quite the list," Kratos allowed. He did notice that practically half of his 'failures' had to do with protecting someone or something. Typical Lloyd… "However, I was about to say that you were not a mistake, no matter how many times you have failed and how many you have succeeded."

Lloyd snorted.

"You may not believe it, but it's true," he said. "Your birth was not planned, true, but we did have _some_ warning before the actual event, you know. There are ways to stop a birth, you know… But we did not, because we loved you even then."

"Pah," Lloyd snorted a second time. "You don't even know me, old man. The last time you saw me, I was three years old. Sweet servant of Mother Earth, do you even know my favorite _color_? You don't know the first thing about me!"

"Nor you me," Kratos shot right back. "That didn't bother you before."

"No, but now I see how important it is," Lloyd huffed.

"My favorite color?"

"_Details_," Lloyd stressed. "It's true what they say: that's where the devils are." He glared at the purple-clad 'devil' in front of him.

"This conversation is getting us nowhere," Kratos sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. He really should have seen this coming. Lloyd wasn't going to budge an inch. However much he denied it, he _was_ an Aurion—a family famous for their bullheadedness. And Kratos, by the same token, wasn't going to give either. A simple conversation wasn't going to change that.

"I knew that before we even started," Lloyd rolled his eyes. "So what now, huh? Gonna turn me over to your boss? You got what you wanted from me."

"_Lloyd_," Kratos raised his voice slightly. "I am _not_ using you for your Exspheres. I don't know how many times I have to say it for you to believe it, but it's true. If that was my intention, don't you think I would have _kept_ the Angelus Project when I took it from you?"

"…You're trying to get me to trust you," Lloyd stated after a pause.

"Oh, for the love of… _Why_ would I do that if I had what I wanted from you?!" Kratos was very tempted to slam his head into the nearest wall, but he figured that would be counterproductive towards the goal of keeping his temper.

"…How should I know?" the pause was even longer this time. "You're the one with the plan, not me."

_Anna, grant me patience… _"Fine, then. Here." He held out the bracelet towards the boy. Lloyd eyed it warily, wondering what the man was up to now. He was just opening his mouth to demand exactly that when Kratos interrupted. "You're right about one thing. Since Yuan and Pronyma were present in the Fooji Mountains, I will be suspect if I do not turn you over to Lord Yggdrasill within the day."

"I _knew_ it…!" Lloyd began to snarl.

"If he sends an angel to find me and 'Lloyd Nix' is discovered with me, then you will undoubtedly be killed on the spot," Kratos continued heedlessly. Lloyd shut up. "However, if I bring 'Svafnir' to Lord Yggdrasill, you will simply be held prisoner—_with_ your Crystal—until either Yuan or I am sent out to make you lead us to 'Lloyd'. At that time, I shall help you escape back to Tethe'alla and your friends."

Lloyd hesitated. It sounded logical, but that plan required a _lot_ of faith in Kratos. Faith he was fresh out of at the moment. He didn't trust the man not to simply out him the moment they were in the same room as Yggdrasill, and he definitely didn't trust him to help him escape once he was Cruxis's prisoner.

On the other hand… He really wanted his bracelet back. His wrist felt cold and far too light without it. And once he was a wolf again, he'd have a much better chance of fighting his way out without Kratos's help.

Slowly, Lloyd reached out and took the proffered Crystal. Kratos smothered his sigh of relief. He'd thought, for a moment, that the boy's mistrust would outweigh his desire to escape.

"You can keep that Keycrest," he nodded at the gold oblong on Lloyd's chest. "I can only hope it will do the same as your necklace before and disappear when you become a wolf."

"…Wait a minute," Lloyd frowned, a thought suddenly striking him. "My necklace _was _a Keycrest, on the pendant there. Why didn't it work…?"

"This?" Kratos lifted the discarded silver chain and examined the metal oval dangling from it. "…It is difficult to say, but… This is not a Keycrest."

"Then what is it? Looks like a Keycrest to me."

"This is the same Keycrest being used in the Cruxis Crystal experiments on Tethe'alla," Kratos's voice subsided to a murmur, more talking to himself than to Lloyd.

"Huh?" Lloyd frowned. He had a dim memory of a green-haired woman… Yes! That half-elf woman in Sybak. She'd said they were conducting experiments with Cruxis Crystals… "That Presea girl, right? I'd heard of her." He glared and set his teeth.

"I have never met her personally," Kratos said absently, too distracted to notice his son's lapse back into hostility. "She is a young girl from Ozette, a Tethe'allan hinterland. But you acquired this Keycrest in Sylvarant…" He finally looked up, his face grave. "The differences are subtle, but there is no mistaking it. This Keycrest would not prevent your transformation to an angel. As a matter of fact, since the Angelus Project is an advanced form of Cruxis Crystal, all it did was hinder the process—siphoning away mana so that your wings became physical instead of made of mana like mine and the Chosen's, and forcing you to suffer through the painful symptoms that the Angelus Project was specifically engineered to bypass."

"What? But…!" Lloyd snatched the necklace from the Seraph's hands, his outrage momentarily overpowering his hatred. He stared at the not-Keycrest disbelievingly, his fingers tightening around it until the metal edges bit painfully into his skin. "That Spirits-cursed old _hag_! Efreet rot her eyes, she swindled me _again_! I bet she did this on purpose, that miserable witch…!"

"Watch your language, young man," Kratos snapped.

"Make me, _old_ man."

"You…!" Kratos growled inarticulately. He took a deep breath through his nose, praying again to Anna for the tolerance to deal with this infuriating boy. "Just put on the Crystal before Lord Yggdrasill begins to wonder where I am!"

"Not because you told me to," Lloyd said, squeezing his hand through the golden hoop. There was a small flash as the diamond-like jewel fused with the back of his hand, sending the same shivery, toothache feeling through his body that he'd felt when he'd first equipped the Angelus Project in Triet. Lloyd shuddered, sucking in a sharp breath. He had to get used to feeling pain again…

Well, no time like the present. He gritted his teeth and placed his hand on the shimmering Crystal. The pain of transforming hadn't disappeared even when he had lost his sense of touch, but now that he could feel the difference between his new body and his old one, it seemed a bit more acute than he remembered. And once he had gotten over his usual disorientation of losing several feet in height, he noticed a few other crucial differences.

Lloyd yelped and swung his head around wildly. His eyes! He… he couldn't see color anymore! And… he'd just yelped…? Lloyd tried to speak, but all that emerged were a few growls and whining noises. His throat couldn't form the words his brain could. He twisted around and swished his plumy tail behind him, his red eyes tracking it with mixed wonder and frustration.

"I suppose the Keycrest I gave you suppressed the Angelus Project's influence enough for the Navitus Crystal to take full effect once more," Kratos guessed. "It is just as well you cannot speak as a wolf anymore, since Yuan and your friends have both already been told that your vocal chords were damaged in the fight at the Tower. As for your tail…" he frowned. Yuan and Pronyma had seen 'Svafnir' without a tail. Tails didn't just grow back on their own…

Lloyd tucked his tail as far down between his legs as he could. Most of it disappeared into the fluff on his belly. It wasn't perfect, but if one didn't look _too_ closely, it might hold up. And anyway, it was the only thing they could do short of actually chopping the thing off. Kratos sighed and resisted the urge to cross his fingers. There was no putting it off any longer.

He snatched up the coil of rope from the floor and whipped it around Lloyd's muzzle before the wolf had a chance to realize what he was doing. Kratos was once again forced to all but drag the stiff-legged, struggling wolf through the streets of Welgaia.

Nothing much had been resolved. Lloyd still hated him. And now they were off to see Yggdrasill.

Sometimes, Kratos really hated his life.


	24. Bearer of Mixed News

**Kitty: Aw. Anyone here ever finish a big, long-standing project of theirs? It's a bittersweet feeling… T.T Don't panic, I'm not talking about this one. I just finished my KH/LoZ crossover All For Naught today, and I'm feeling nostalgic…**

**Genis: You realize this means you'll have to work on one of those other fics you've been neglecting now?**

**Kitty: I know… T3T**

**Zelos: I think that's why she's sad… Anyway, YearOfTheKitty doesn't own Tales of Symphonia. She's a minor. She doesn't legally own ANYTHING.**

**Kitty: You really know how to cheer a girl up, Zells…**

**Zelos: Why thank you, my disembodied hunny! ~_^**

**Genis: She was being sarcas—You know what? I'm not even gonna bother. Just read the fic. It'll make you just as sad as Kitty. **

**Kitty: Try to enjoy anyway! (The quote becomes really creepy after you know what this chapter is about!)**

~ ~ ~~ ~ ~

**Chapter Twenty-Four**

**Bearer of Mixed News**

"_Cast away all the enemies of yesterday_

_To alleviate all the memories that come our way_

_There's a better life, now you know that I am on your side_

_Your beady eyes burn a hole right through the back of mine_

_I am out of time."_

—_Breaking Benjamin, 'Ordinary Man'_

As a Seraph of Cruxis, the organization that guides the worlds, and a reasonably intelligent man in his own right, Kratos really should have known better. The first time he had tried the rope-muzzle trick on Lloyd, the wolf had been disoriented from warping into Welgaia and not expecting it. This time though, he was somewhat more prepared.

Kratos hadn't gotten a hundred yards down the road before Lloyd suddenly reversed direction: springing forward instead of pulling back. His head plowed painfully into Kratos's stomach, winding the man for a single, crucial moment. In that instant, Lloyd spun away and fled, the rope slipping from the man's slackened grip, burning as it went.

Kratos rubbed his stomach with his burned hand ruefully, watching the canine sprint away, trailing the rope on the ground behind him. Well, it was earlier than he'd planned, but Lloyd _was_ escaping. Then again, Lord Yggdrasill was going to be just a _tad_ suspicious when he heard that a muzzled and leashed wolf had somehow overpowered, outrun, and hidden himself from the four-thousand-year-old mercenary, not to mention gotten out of Welgaia on his own. Kratos had warped him in from the Tower of Salvation—the lock recognized the Seraphim's Cruxis Crystals as well as the Chosen's—so Kratos himself would consider it a true miracle if the nobly-intentioned idiot actually found the warp pad. Lord Yggdrasill would find it just on the other side of _impossible_.

Eventually, he shrugged and turned, ready to report his double failure to his lord. He could take any punishment his former student dished out, he knew. Yggdrasill had been forced to become proficient in the art of mental torture after he'd realized how risky physical punishment could be to his Seal, but Kratos was really all but immune to it now that he knew Lloyd was still alive. It was nothing he couldn't handle.

And this time, he was not going to regret walking away from his son.

~ ~ ~~ ~ ~

Lloyd's plan was simple: follow the smell. Derris-Kharlan was, apparently, a very magical place, since the scent of mana saturated the air to the point where Lloyd half-expected his limbs to churn sluggishly as if through liquid instead of air. Thankfully, it didn't seem to be making him ill this time, in this form. Surrounded by all this mana, Lloyd's nose was taking a crash course in life-force identification—namely, telling different kinds of mana apart from each other. Or, at the very least, recognizing kinds he'd smelled before. The wolf pounded through the streets after a thin strand of smell that he thought reminded him of that horrible, pinching sensation he'd felt when Kratos had warped them to Welgaia.

He was a little surprised when Kratos's scent faded behind him, evidently not giving chase. Lloyd shrugged the thought away, concentrating instead on the wonderful feeling of his paws hitting the ground strongly, sharply, with each bound. It was so amazing to feel the wind in his fur and his tail waving behind him once more. As soon as he landed back on Tethe'alla, he planned on rediscovering his tactile sense as fully as possible.

For now, though, he had mounted a brief ramp and come in sight of the teleporter. Standing guard in front of it was a girl with feathered wings and soulless eyes, a bit like a cross between Colette and Lloyd himself. She raised her weapon as the wolf approached.

Just a beat too late.

Lloyd's paws hit her shoulder, just opposite the joint where her wing attached and just above her blade as she brought it up. Strong the angel might have been, but even she had to follow the laws of physics, and his momentum half-spun her around, allowing the canine to thump to the ground behind her. A single leap later, he was engulfed in blue light. He felt a sharp irritation in the tip of his tail as the angel's blade slashed uselessly at his disappearing shape. Lloyd growled, feeling the vibrations through his whole body. He'd just gotten that back and already people were trying to chop it off!

The wolf grimaced a bit, feeling like bands of metal were being clamped around his midsection and forehead. Just when he felt like his eyes were going to pop from the pressure, the bands disappeared, and he reformed in a flash of blue light. The wolf panted slightly, wondering why the teleporter to Welgaia hurt so much more than the one in Martel's Temple.

_Well_, he frowned, _I guess it's a little farther from Tethe'alla to Derris-Kharlan than a single floor upwards…_ He shook his head sharply and stepped off the circular platform. All extraneous thoughts were driven from his head in a moment, his frown deepening. _This… is_ not _the Tower of Salvation_.

It appeared to be a cave of some sort, hewn roughly out of bluish rock. Roots hung down from the ceiling and twined over the walls, decorated with clumps of earth. The smell of mold and earthworms swamped his nostrils.

After a brief pause, Lloyd inhaled deeply, searching for the place where the air felt freshest. He followed this trail straight ahead and around a slight curve in the tunnel, coming out into bright daylight that hurt his eyes after the twilight of Welgaia and the darkness of the cave. When his eyes had adjusted, Lloyd blinked a few more times, just to make sure he was seeing what he thought he was seeing.

He was at the mouth of a cave/tunnel leading into the rock face just off to the side of the Tower of Salvation, which he could see filling a good two-thirds of his vision. The unfamiliar landscape told him that he was, at least, in Tethe'alla instead of Sylvarant. Other than that, he had only a vague idea of where he was. The Tower of Salvation was possibly in a roughly eastern direction of Sybak—or, at least, they'd crossed a sea that might have been the same one the Grand Tethe'allan Bridge spanned before reaching it.

A sudden scraping noise sent Lloyd's nerves jangling. The wolf spun around, his fur fluffing out in shock. For a few breathless seconds, his eyes scanned the area, visions of Desians and angels and Papal Knights filling his head. A small movement caught his eye, and Lloyd's fur fell flat in a second. He almost felt like laughing at himself, and he would have if his heart still hadn't been going a mile a minute.

The bat on the ceiling twitched its ears at him irritably, rustling its leathery wings and shuffling little claws along the rock in agitation. The canine was making too much noise while it was trying to sleep.

Lloyd took pity on the little mammal and padded farther away from the cave's mouth, thinking. That scare, as foolish and embarrassing as it had been, had served to remind him exactly how many enemies he had. It wouldn't do to just stand there like an idiot in the middle of his escape route. If nothing else, Kratos was sure to have raised an alarm by now.

The brown and white animal plodded a few yards away from the cave into a small copse of trees, thinking even harder. It was all well and good to know that, but what was he supposed to do next? He had no way of knowing where in the two worlds his friends might be. And even if he knew where _they_ were, it didn't help him unless he first found out where _he_ was!

_Not to mention…_ he sat down suddenly, his head feeling far too heavy for his neck. _My tail…_ He was going to have a hell of a time explaining that one, especially since he couldn't talk or write. He supposed he could find Sheena beforehand and explain things as a biped, but it was doubtful that even she could pull a brilliant solution (or even a mediocre one) out of thin air.

Lloyd shook his head abruptly, his ears flapping against a tangle of twigs which suddenly sprang free, whapping him across the nose. The wolf yelped and backpedaled, _still_ thinking. He didn't have to worry about that right now. First he had to _find_ them. It went against his new laissez-faire policy, but if he just sat back and waited for them to find him he'd be dead within the week.

Luckily, he had a fairly reliable way to scout the lay of the land.

Lloyd grinned in anticipation. So maybe Kratos _had_ done something for him, this time.

~ ~ ~~ ~ ~

"Yee-_HAW_!" Lloyd whooped until his throat was raw, screaming partly in fear and partly in exhilaration. Flying was _exponentially_ more amazing when he could _feel_ all the dips and swoops and turns in his bones and stomach. He could _feel_ the wind sliding between each individual feather, chilling his face, tugging through his hair, and drying the very tears it created as they rolled down his cheeks. And, somehow, it was all suddenly so _easy_! He hadn't been missing any kind of instinct before; he just hadn't been able to use it. Now that he could feel the wind currents and air pressure for himself, judging maneuvers seemed a whole lot simpler.

It took nearly an hour of loops (horizontal ones; he wasn't quite ready to find out how amazing it felt to crush every bone in your body just yet) and swoops before Lloyd remembered that he had spent fifteen minutes trying to launch from a tree with no tailwind for a reason. (Though a 'footwind' might have been a more accurate term in this case.) Even after this epiphany, it took ten more minutes for the excited boy to pull himself together and actually _look_ at the ground below him.

It was extremely unhelpful.

A dark, brooding forest the like of which he had never seen in all of his ramblings lurked just behind him, seeming to repel the bright sunlight beaming down upon it. With two strong strokes, Lloyd ascended several yards, revealing the glittering coastline ahead. It was a narrow strait—he could see the other side even from this altitude. To his left stretched more coast and water, while to his right he could just make out a smudge on the sun-streaked liquid that might or might not have been the Grand Tethe'allan Bridge. Which meant that Sybak was just a quick flight that way…

Lloyd preformed the tightest turn he'd preformed to date (_not_ a pirouette) and began to speed away in the direction of the city. He hadn't gotten two miles when he glanced down and saw something odd. He flared slightly, slowing and dropping at once, squinting for a better look. There was some sort of commotion in a field beneath him. He dropped even more, a horrible realization dawning. It was a young girl with big pink pigtails, a short blue dress, and bulky white boots and gloves. A young girl in the middle of a field in the middle of nowhere, all by herself.

A young girl beset by a small pack of wolves.

Lloyd's wings folded up behind him, tipping the boy into a headfirst hurtle towards the ground. He gritted his teeth against the sting of the wing and the encroaching panic. The girl had a disproportionately large axe, which she was wielding with disproportionate strength and expertise to fend them off, and she was doing rather well for the moment. The red-splattered bodies of two wolves lay almost hidden in the grasss, their limbs nearly hacked off in a gory display and their blood smeared across the silver axehead as well as the front of the girl's dress. But there were at least six more wolves and only one of her, and they were circling around and around. It was only a matter of time before she was overwhelmed.

Lloyd's wings unfurled with an audible (and painful) _SNAP_ as he extended them as hard and fast as he could, swinging his boots around just in time to smack into the ground with an impact that jarred every bone in his body. It hurt like _hell_. It was also the first time he'd ever landed on his feet.

But there was no time for that now. His dramatic entrance had successfully diverted the girl's attention, her hands fumbling in shock and momentarily stilling her axe. Two of the nearer wolves also whipped around to investigate. The other four, however, took this opportunity to leap at the vulnerable girl with jaws agape.

"Ah!" The girl cried out as she fell. The double thumps (each as loud as the other) of the girl and her weapon hitting the ground as well as the wolves' snarls completely eclipsed the soft pitter-patter as a spray of liquid that wasn't rain watered the grass.

The wolf loosened its grip on the girl's arm slightly to adjust, preparing to bite down again, deeper, at a better angle this time. It was a movement that only took a nanosecond. So it was very unfortunate that that was the moment Lloyd's foot chose to impact the lupine's temple in a move Sheena would have been proud of, knocking the animal aside. Lloyd cried out wordlessly, waving his arms and wings like a madman to make himself seem bigger and more intimidating. The wolves backed off several yards but no more, resuming their prowl with wary eyes. The girl clutched her bleeding arm without a sound, eyeing the boy with shocking calmness.

"Grr…" Lloyd growled, making sure to show his teeth, as he advanced on the wolf he thought was the alpha. He placed his hands on his head to imitate pricked ears and kept his wings half-unfolded. The wolf skittered nervously but held its ground. Lloyd growled again and stepped even closer.

This trick had worked a few times in the past, when he was caught off-guard with no time to transform. The wolves were usually confused by his wolfish body language and fled to find easier prey. But really it all depended on how confident the alpha was.

This alpha was ready to crack. It squirmed and growled uncertainly, already beginning a slow retreat. Lloyd finished it off with a growl particular to a wolf defending its territory, loud and sharp. The alpha yipped once and slunk away, followed quickly by its cohorts. They vanished into the trees around them, swallowed up by greenery in moments. Lloyd dropped his arms and sighed with relief. He had been scared they would just attack anyway… If they'd called his bluff, he and the little girl would have been done for.

"Hey, are you okay?" he turned slowly, hands up to show he wasn't armed. The girl regarded him coolly, as if he were the one bleeding on the ground and she had just saved him from almost certain death.

"Unknown life-form detected," she droned, as if to herself. "Damage assessment: inconclusive. Further study required."

"E-Eh?" Lloyd blinked. He dared to step closer. "You mean… you don't know? Here, let me see." He knelt down. The girl held out her arm to him. Lloyd took it gently and examined it, his brow furrowed.

"It's not deep," he finally said. "Though a few seconds more and it might have been. I don't suppose you have any bandages?" The girl shook her head mutely. Lloyd sighed. He really didn't want to… These clothes had been a gift from Zelos… But sacrifices had to be made. His vanity was less important than this girl's well-being. Still, he winced as he tore up the hems of his pants (the part he could most afford to do without) into strips, which he tied around her arm to staunch the sluggish flow. The girl looked at him with big, empty eyes and did not say thank you.

"Now that that's done…" Lloyd offered her a hand—which she ignored—as he climbed to his feet. "Where were you heading all on your own? These woods are dangerous."

"Ozette," the girl said in a clipped tone.

"Ozette," Lloyd repeated, frowning. That… that was the town Kratos had mentioned just recently, wasn't it? Now what had they been talking about…? Ah, yes! The hometown of the girl who was part of the Cruxis Crystal experiments!

…Wait a minute…

"Is your name Presea?" he demanded, abruptly excited. The girl nodded slowly, expression unchanging. And no wonder. If she was growing a Cruxis Crystal, which took away souls, it might follow that this Exsphere (full Crystal or not) had much the same effect. She was a bit more lively than Colette, though, which probably meant it wasn't a true Crystal.

Either way, Lloyd felt the familiar anger rise within him. His eyes raked over her body, eventually coming to rest at the sight of the little gem twinkling innocently on her collarbone (and such a pretty Keycrest, too—like a little golden pine tree). Such a beautiful object that stemmed from such terrible evil. So much suffering caused by these tiny jewels that gleamed so brightly in the sun, like a stray droplet of wolf's blood.

More than the jewel, Lloyd was struck by this girl's—Presea's—eyes. They held no spark, no inner light. Her head was tilted back on her neck, not lolling to the side, but her face was exactly the same as Colette's. The same as a dead person's.

_This isn't right. _The words rang inside of him like a hammer on steel, vibrating through every hair on his head and resonating deep in his chest.

"That Crystal is going to come off," he said with finality. Presea stared.

"I… do not understand."

"Come with me," Lloyd offered. "I'll take you back to Sybak and make them take that _thing_ off of you. Then you can go home to Ozette. Okay?"

"I do not like Sybak," she mumbled. "I want to… go home."

"You can go home," Lloyd promised with difficulty, hitching a painful smile onto his face. "But won't it be better to go back without that thing on your neck?" Presea stared at him for a few minutes, though Lloyd couldn't tell if she didn't understand or was simply thinking things over. Evidently, it was the second one, for she nodded a few moments later.

"I understand." Mechanically, she bent down to retrieve her axe and hefted it over her shoulder. The two stared at each other for a few moments more, before Lloyd suddenly realized she was waiting for him to lead the way. He turned in the direction he had been going before seeing the pink-haired girl's plight and began, hesitantly, to walk.

The girl strode along behind him, her movements smooth, yet somehow puppet-like. Looking over his shoulder, Lloyd was forcibly reminded of a toy Chocolat had had once when they were little: a painted wooden duck with wheels on the end of a length of twine. She would go everywhere with it, and the tiny duck would roll along behind her obediently, with staring eyes and a wooden heart…

Lloyd looked forward again, shuddering. Those weren't the kinds of thoughts he should be thinking. On foot, they'd reach Sybak within two days or so. Much slower than he would have liked, and _much_ slower than he could have done on the wing.

_The wing._

_Oh, crap!_

"Presea!" Lloyd stopped dead and whirled around to face the girl behind him. She stopped and looked at him blankly. Lloyd nearly grabbed her shoulders in panic, only just remembering at the last moment what happened to anyone who touched Colette nowadays. Even so, he leaned in closely and spoke urgently. "Presea, listen to me right now. You _can't tell anyone_ about my wings, all right? It's a secret. _Do not tell_."

Presea frowned just a little and nodded slowly. "A secret… I understand."

"Good," Lloyd sighed in relief. He reached down and untied his (forgotten) jacket, folding up his wings tightly and donning the article over them. In moments, he looked just as human as Presea did. The pink-haired child showed absolutely no surprise or curiosity at this, and merely continued her duckling impression as Lloyd resumed walking. Toy duckling…

Lloyd shivered. The first time since the start of last summer that he would be able to sleep, and he wasn't going to get a wink for nightmares. This was going to be a fun trip.

~ ~ ~~ ~ ~

The next day saw Lloyd and Presea slogging through ankle-deep mud as the sky vomited a near-constant stream of water down on them. Lloyd was groggy from tiredness (having gotten no sleep last night due to nightmares, both about Presea and (as a bonus surprise) Kratos) and stumbling even when the ground was relatively firm. Intermittently, a flash would light up the sky, followed by a report that all but made the rain shiver as it fell. The wind scoured Lloyd's skin like a fussy mother bathing her child. All this natural cacophony, at least, eliminated the awkwardness Lloyd had felt the previous day from walking less than a foot away from someone in complete and total silence for an entire day.

As a mixed blessing and curse, Lloyd had realized that along with his wings, he still retained his angelic senses. So even though every clap of thunder had him cringing in pain, at least he could see through the curtains of liquid darkness even better than a normal human could see on a clear summer's night. Presea, too, had this ability, enabling her to stick to Lloyd's side like glue.

Also in Lloyd's favor was the thickness of his jacket. It didn't keep him dry in the least (in fact, it only really made him wetter), but the heaviness of the fabric meant that even while soaked and limp, it managed to conceal the shape of his wings beneath it.

_And_, Lloyd added to his litany of good fortune, a list he had begun to compile in an effort to bolster his quickly-fading morale, _I'm not dead, either. That's a good thing, right?_

_Don't die, Lloyd._

The boy let out a mental shout of frustration and drummed the heels of his hands against his forehead. That was _not_ what he wanted to think about right now. He'd spent precisely half of the previous night watching a wooden Presea being tugged around behind Chocolat on a string, and the other half being stabbed repeatedly by Kratos, who begged him with each blow not to die, as they both slowly became covered in blood (which he had woken up to find had been the rain beginning to fall). Apparently, his subconscious was bound and determined to make him think about everything he was denying while awake.

Lloyd was beginning to really hate his subconscious.

It took several minutes before Lloyd realized that he could only hear one set of panting and sucking noises from the muck around him. He stopped and turned to see Presea standing stationary several yards back, her knees bent and her axe raised, though her expression remained deadpan. Lloyd could see her injured arm trembling just a little. He quickly made his way back to the girl, concerned.

"Presea, what's wrong?"

"Foreign group approaching. Intent unknown—preparing for possible hostile encounter," the girl 'replied'. Lloyd turned to scan their darkened surroundings, his concern deepening. 'Foreign group'… that meant humans, or those like them. She wouldn't have been able to detect _animals_ with hostile intent, and even if she could, she wouldn't have said 'intent unknown'. And if those humans turned out to be, in fact, hostile, Lloyd wasn't going to do much good in a fight. He had never fought humans as a human before… He usually ran away. Escape in these conditions would be next to impossible, either by air or land. But Presea was wounded. Who knew if her arm would hold up in a prolonged fight, especially if they were outnumbered?

At that moment, Lloyd caught sight of a slight glow coming towards them. At the same time, the sounds of squelching footsteps and rustling cloth met his ears. The group was approaching, and it appeared that they had lanterns. They didn't have long.

"Quick," Lloyd hissed just loudly enough to be heard over the drumming rain. "Come with me!" He darted off to the side, pushing his way into a clump of bushes. Presea hefted her axe over her shoulder and followed quickly, hunkering down beside him. With any luck, out of the circle of light created by the lanterns (and soaked and covered in mud and leaves as they were) they would pass unnoticed by the travelers. Even if they turned out to be friendly… better safe than sorry.

The duo huddled miserably in hiding for nearly ten minutes as the strange party drew closer and closer. The light grew brighter (drawing rainbows in the air from the heavy rain), and Lloyd became more and more confused. The light was… pink…? The pink glow emanated from the slowest member of their party, steady and unwavering, silhouetting a tall, slender form with a walking stick and a much shorter one with a wild mane of pale hair.

Just when they had drawn close enough for an ominous premonition to run through Lloyd, a sudden hard coldness at his throat completely diverted his attention from the odd light and its bearers. A slight pressure on what was clearly a sword held to his neck brought the boy slowly to his feet, his hands held out in surrender. Lloyd swore internally. The light had stopped moving. He had been so distracted watching it that he hadn't noticed the real danger creeping up behind him, and fallen neatly into their trap. But how had they known…?

Unfortunately for the ambushers, a second person had apparently attempted to accost Presea as well. That person found themselves quickly flipped over the little girl's shoulder, hitting the ground solidly as the mostly-soulless child brought up her weapon directly above the attacker's prone form.

"Stop!" the one holding Lloyd cried out to her. "Or I'll slit your friend's throat!" Presea didn't listen, her axe beginning its deadly arc.

"Presea, stop!" Lloyd shouted loudly. This time she halted her weapon's momentum, bringing it up short with tremendous effort just before the blade bit into the fallen person's body. Presea slung it over her shoulder and turned to Lloyd as if awaiting further instruction.

"…That was an intelligent move on your part, kid. You're pretty smart bandits," Lloyd's captor observed after a moment as his companion began to climb shakily to his or her feet. "But don't think we'll go easy on you just for that." The filtered light from the figures on the path, oddly colored though it was, was more than enough to make out the features of Presea's assaulter, as well as its—_her _very… _distinctive_ silhouette.

At that moment, everything clicked, and the entire situation shifted for Lloyd.

"Well, you're pretty stupid ambushers," Lloyd retorted with a laugh. "Even for humans, you've got some pretty terrible eyesight, you know that? I mean, I'd understand if you didn't recognize my voice, but still…"

"Huh?" the knife at his throat wavered. The one who had tried to capture Presea took a tentative step forward, her amber eyes widening.

"Lloyd?!"

"Hey, Sheena," Lloyd grinned. "Think you could let me go now, Zelos? I don't want my throat slit by accident."

"Bud?!" Lloyd's captor dropped his sword immediately, spinning Lloyd around by the shoulders. The winged boy found his face mere centimeters away from Zelos's as the man's cornflower blue eyes looked him over incredulously. His wet hair hung around his face in limp strands, as straight as Colette's hair in the rain. Lloyd felt cold breath ghost over his face before the Chosen suddenly enfolded him in a hug, a grin in his voice. "Jeez, bud, don't creep up on us like that! I was ready to take your head off!"

"I'd noticed," Lloyd winced slightly. The smell of lavender swamped him as surely as the rain. Another pair of arms joined Zelos's as Sheena latched onto him as well, nearly crying.

"Lloyd! You're okay! I was so worried about you! You are okay, right? Oh!" She suddenly flew away. "Your wing!" Zelos's arms sprung away as well at that reminder. Lloyd shook his head at them, smiling.

"It's okay. It's healed completely now."

"Bud…" Zelos's tone hushed, almost awed, his expression shocked. "You're talking…"

"Tell us all about it later, okay?" Sheena interjected hurriedly. "The others are just over there; they'll be here any second! You have to switch now! If they see you here like this…"

It was too late. "Sheena! Zelos! Are you all right? Did you get them?" A tall, slender figure carrying a staff pushed its way through the surrounding bushes, backlit by a pink glow as a gliding figure and a shorter one followed her. Raine Sage stopped dead, her eyes stretching wide at the sight before her. Genis, too, jerked to a halt, his mouth flopping open and his kendama falling from nerveless fingers.

"L-Lloyd?" he whispered disbelievingly. "How are you…?" He seemed to realize something, his eyes dropping to waist height and searching back and forth frantically. "Svafnir! Is Svafnir with you?!"

Lloyd opened his mouth. Genis knew what was coming, he could tell. Raine, too, for she closed her eyes and looked away, expression pained. Sheena and Zelos both braced themselves beside him.

For his part, Lloyd felt as if someone was stabbing him repeatedly, but he couldn't help it. There was no other way to explain his presence on Tethe'alla, or why the half-elf's beloved dog was nowhere to be found. And even if he could have found some other lie, he'd have the impossible task of explaining his regrown tail and reverted eye color.

So he turned eyes full of pain and sympathy on Genis's pleading and already tearful orbs and tried unsuccessfully to make his heart as numb as his skin had been just a single day ago, mustering every ounce of acting skill he'd ever possessed.

"I'm sorry, Genis," his voice choked. "But Svafnir… is dead."


	25. Indecisive

**Kitty: I am SO sorry! I realize I never made the weekly update-thing official, but it was still really gross of me to make you wait this long. I apologize for that. In happier news, congrats to SilverMoon88 for being the 100****th**** reviewer! **

**Genis: Woo.**

**Kitty: Your oneshot is on the way! Sorry that took so long, too… **

**Zelos: Happy Halloween, people! –drools- God, I love this holiday…**

**Genis: -.-" It's a holiday, people, not a nationwide brothel…**

**Zelos: Who cares?? I'll trick them if they treat me! ~_^**

**Kitty: We have absolutely no doubt about that, Zelos. Anyway, I do not own Tales of Symphonia or, unfortunately, Halloween. Enjoy anyway; I'll be handing out virtual lollipops if you review!**

~ ~ ~~ ~ ~

**Chapter Twenty-Five**

**Indecisive**

"_I know I'll never trust a single thing you say._

_You knew your lies would divide us, but you lied anyway._

_And now your lies have got you floating up above us all;_

_But what goes up has got to fall."_

—_Linkin Park, 'Hit the Floor'_

Genis cried the entire walk to Sybak, which they reached at around noon (though you couldn't tell by the stormy sky). Raine was the one who had insisted they not stop to grieve until they did reach the city, lest they all catch terrible pneumonia and die themselves. Despite her stiff-upper-lip façade, the half-elf healer was noticeably gentle towards both her brother and (unofficial) girlfriend, encouraging them with soft words and frequent soft touches on the arm or shoulder. Sheena, for her part, even got fairly teary knowing that 'Svafnir' was walking right next to them. Lloyd couldn't fault her for it, since tears intermittently streamed down his own face, for various reasons.

Lloyd cried for his first friend, the poor little half-elf who had had such a hard life, and having to cause such misery by deceiving him this way. He cried because he still couldn't tell them, not now, not yet. He cried because after this, if he ever did tell them, they'd never forgive him. And he cried because he was a selfish bastard, and he knew it.

Zelos alternated between staring gravely at the ground and staring gravely at one or another of his crying companions. He had known Lloyd's secret from the beginning. He had seen the youngest half-elf's fondness for his 'pet' during their first trek to Sybak, and then back to the Fooji Mountains. It was still a surprise to him to see how absolutely devastated the whole group was by all of it.

So devastated, he noted, that no one but him seemed to so much as think of asking who the hell the little pink-haired girl following them was, or where 'Nix' had suddenly come from, or how, exactly any of this had spawned from Kratos kidnapping 'Svafnir'. He kept his mouth tightly shut, however, also noting that Lloyd was in no condition to answer them at the moment. After a few miles of watching Raine's work with Genis and Sheena, the red-haired swordsman tentatively approached the brunet thief and put his hand on his shoulder, hoping it was conveying the message he meant it to. Lloyd jerked in surprise, but cast the older man a watery smile of gratitude. Zelos smiled back and kept his hand there until they reached the city.

It was nearly evening when Genis finally ran out of tears. By then, they had checked into an inn and convened in the room allotted to Sheena, Raine, and Presea (and, nominally, Colette). It said much of the situation that Zelos did not make a single tasteless comment on the rooming arrangements.

The first complete, coherent sentence from the mage broke the still, sopping air. He was staring at his hands folded in his lap while he sat on Raine's bed as he said it, and did not address it to anyone in particular.

"Colette," he said, "will be devastated. She loves dogs."

"I thought you did, too," Zelos spoke softly. Genis sniffed, his shoulders shaking, though no more tears fell.

"No," his voice wavered and broke. "Just that one."

"Oh, Genis," Raine sat beside her brother and pulled him into a tight hug, looking as sad and lost as any present had ever seen her. Contrary to appearances, they all knew that Raine Sage would give up archeology for life for the sake of her little brother. He was her everything. As lukewarm as she had felt about Svafnir, he had been important to her brother, and now, for possibly the first time in her life, Raine did not know what to do for him.

"How?" Sheena finally asked, hoarsely. She all but glared at Lloyd, who flinched at the accusation he found there. "How did he die, Lloyd?"

"Cr-Cruxis," Lloyd looked down and away, clenching his fists and setting his jaw to steel his resolve. He couldn't back out now. "They made him lead them to me. When I escaped… I tried to take him, but… he didn't make it."

"Who?" Raine demanded, having heard his stutter and interpreting it to mean something entirely different. 'Kr' sounded exactly like 'cr' when spoken, after all… Lloyd, however, didn't follow this train of thought in his upset state.

"Just an angel," Lloyd's throat tightened. "Just a stupid, _stupid_ human with wings." Raine's eyes narrowed at that, and Lloyd began to fear that she knew he was making all of this up on the spot. He was right to think that she was suspicious, of course, though he was unaware of exactly where those suspicions lay. Raine didn't say anything—someone else beat her to it.

"You're lying!" Genis spoke up with surprising strength. "Svafnir wouldn't betray you to Cruxis! He wouldn't! He wouldn't…" His chin wobbled. "H-he… w-w-wouldn't…"

"He couldn't help it," Lloyd whispered. "They took his Crystal, and without it…"

"…He was just a wolf," Raine whispered. Lloyd relaxed. So she believed him after all… He wasn't sure whether to feel relieved or even guiltier. "All they'd have to do would be to release him on Sylvarant, and secretly follow him when he ran home to you…" Lloyd looked back helplessly, unable to confirm this but unable to refute it, either. The others seemed to take it as an affirmation.

"And who is this little one?" Zelos asked Lloyd, looking down at Presea, who was watching their grief blankly.

"Her name is Presea," Lloyd said a bit more steadily. "I met her while running from the Tower of Salvation. She was leading me back to civilization."

"Presea…" Zelos repeated thoughtfully. "She's part of that experiment the Pope was conducting trying to create Cruxis Crystals in human bodies, wasn't she?"

"Experi…?" Sheena jolted bolt upright. "Like Colette?!"

"Look at them," Zelos nodded at the two young girls, both of whom were observing their surroundings with flat, blank eyes. Presea was only slightly more animated in that she was holding her head up and holding her elbows with the opposite hands in the most insecure gesture Lloyd had ever seen her make.

"I… hate this city," she said lowly. "Take me… to Ozette."

"Her hometown?" Zelos guessed, blinking. Lloyd nodded. Genis also looked at Presea, his gaze strong.

"We have to help her," he asserted. "We can't… let what happened to Colette happen to her, too."

"I'll take care of it," Zelos said, turning towards the door. "I shouldn't be here right now, anyway. I'm sure Miss Kate will help us once she learns how things turned out."

"Go with him, okay, Presea?" Lloyd requested. The girl nodded and quietly followed the Tethe'allan Chosen out of the room. Silence fell once more over the group, each of whom shifted and avoided making eye contact with anyone else.

"So how did you all get out of that trap?" Lloyd asked in an uninterested monotone, regarding his shoes closely. "The angel mentioned something like that…" He added in a halfhearted attempt to maintain his cover.

"Zelos gave me a boost onto his shoulders so I could climb over the top," Sheena related flatly. "But I lost my balance up there and fell over… right on top of the device generating the walls. It hurt, but it broke." Lloyd winced in sympathy, hating the tone of his friend's voice. If he'd been 'Svafnir', just reunited with the group after a successful rescue, he was sure the whole group would have gotten in on the story, laughing and teasing the ninja, who would have shouted and blushed and sneakily checked to see if Raine was smiling. And Lloyd would have laughed, too, and mouthed the words 'top-heavy', despite knowing he was going to get kicked in the ribs for it. But instead there was this flat recital of facts, and not a hint of a smile on anyone's face.

"After that," Sheena continued in the same deadened tone, "we snuck back into Meltokio. The Pope sent some convicts to attack us, but we beat them. The guys at the Elemental Research Laboratory modified an EC for us, and we used that to cross the sea."

"…We were heading for the Tower of Salvation," Raine eventually contributed, swaying slightly in an almost motherly way as she continued to hug the younger Sage. "Our next goal is the Temple of Lightning, to the north, so that we can repair the rheiards and return to Sylvarant to visit Dirk. At that time, we can drop you off wherever you want in Sylvarant."

"…All right," Lloyd acquiesced. It was a good enough excuse to stay with them for now. Once they actually got to Sylvarant… Well, he could always just hitch a ride back on Sheena's or Zelos's rheiard and claim that he had decided to settle in the unexplored vistas of Tethe'alla. After that… well, stalking came to mind… Though, with any luck, after they'd cured Colette, he and Sheena could put their Cruxis-commands-you-to-relocate-to-Sylvarant ploy to the King. He still held out hope on that one…

"Now that that's settled, I need to talk to you," Sheena seized Lloyd's upper arm and cast a significant look in the Sages' direction.

"O-Okay…" Lloyd also looked in their direction before following the girl out of the room. Behind him, he heard Genis mutter something about not needing 'alone-time', while Raine hushed him. The brunette ninja dragged Lloyd back to the room that he was supposed to be sharing with Zelos and Genis. One the door was shut and latched behind her, she turned to Lloyd with her arms crossed.

"Okay," she began. "You had better have one DAMN good reason for all of this—and while you're at it, tell me what REALLY happened after Kratos kidnapped you."

"It's…" Lloyd stopped, blew out his cheeks, and ran his hand through his hair. "I don't have a good reason. After that guy took me… he took me to Welgaia, the City of Angels, Yggdrasill's home base. To his _house_. He really did take my Crystal so I turned back, and then he healed my wing. We talked for a while… then…"

"No, no, no," Sheena interrupted angrily. "You are not going to get away with that. _What_ did you talk about?"

"…Nnrgh," Lloyd scowled. "He tried to convince me that he and I were the only two people in the worlds who mattered at all, then tried to tell me he… _loved me_," Lloyd spat out like some sort of curse word.

"That bastard," Sheena added her own curse. "Next time I see him, I really will tear him apart…!"

"He told me that getting attached to all of you would have the same result as what happened with… Chocolat… and then called me a hypocrite for being mad at him for keeping secrets while I keep my own," Lloyd related in seething tone. "He got mad at me when I told him… when I told him that I wasn't going to kill him… And then said the conversation was getting nowhere. He planned to turn me over to Yggdrasill, then _said _he'd help me escape when they brought me to Sylvarant to track down 'Nix' for them. I got away before he managed to turn me over, though, and hijacked the teleporter down to Tethe'alla. When I got here, I started to fly towards Sybak, but saw Presea getting attacked by wolves, so I helped her. I remembered her name and saw her Crystal, so I was bringing her back here to get it removed when I met you all. Oh, and that guy told me that the reason I became an angel was the Keycrest on my Angelus Project wasn't a real Keycrest, so he gave me this new one. That's how I'm talking now; my wolf form got its tail and eyes back, too, and it can't talk anymore."

"I see…" Sheena frowned. "You said… you weren't going to kill him…?"

"…" Lloyd looked away uncomfortably, his expression a mixture of anger and pain. "…I can't," he finally whispered. "When I'm like this, it's fine to be furious—and I am. So much so that, sometimes, I think I really could kill him. But when we're face-to-face… Well, I'm mad then, too, but… all I can see is…"

"_I have no place to call home. But after this Journey… I think I can make one."_

"_I would advise you to stop talking about _my son _that way before I lose my temper."_

"…I _don't hate you."_

"_Because you're my son, you half-witted fool!"_

"_Now I worry with every waking moment that I'll lose you again—forever, this time."_

"_Don't die, Lloyd!"_

"He's still your dad," Sheena murmured.

"No!" Lloyd jerked his head to the side. His voice softened. "I guess… The problem with me is… I can't let the past go, Sheena. Even if he betrayed me… even if Chocolat hates me… I can't forget _before_. Knowing it was a lie… doesn't change it. And when he starts acting like he did _before_, I get confused. I just can't let things _go_!"

"It's okay, Lloyd," Sheena stepped forward and pulled him into a hug, much the way Raine had done earlier. That was twice today somebody had embraced him. Her arms were much thinner than Zelos's, and not as strong. Her body was shaped differently, and never had the usually infinitesimal difference in their heights been more apparent.

"You really are like a puppy sometimes," she continued softly, fondly. "You trust so easily, and even if that trust is abused, you just can't stop. It's just how you are. People like you…" she trailed off abruptly. Lloyd pulled back a little, her tone of voice putting him on-guard.

"People like me...?"

"I _was_ going to say that people like you find it hard to hurt others," Sheena finished. Lloyd took a full step back, feeling as if she'd just hit him. The ninja's arms fell limply to her sides, and her amber eyes were as soft as butter when she looked at him.

"Sheena…" he tried.

"No, Lloyd. I understand why you've lied to them for so long. I get why you were scared. I thought if I helped you, eventually you'd see that there was nothing to be scared of. But… there comes a point, Lloyd, where the lies have to end," she steeled herself. "And this is that point. I won't help you hurt our friends like this."

Lloyd couldn't believe what he was hearing. He felt as if Sheena had just thrown a bucket of ice all over him. Then again, maybe he was getting sick, now that he could do so again—he _had _just spent hours standing out in the pouring rain... and it might explain why his hands were shaking.

"Sheena, don't…" he began in a choked voice. The girl shook her head, eyes pinched shut.

"No, Lloyd!" she repeated. "I'm not changing my mind about this. I tried to make you see sense, but it didn't work. Now I'm telling you: either you tell them everything yourself by the time I've made a pact with Volt… or I will."

"Sheena…!" Lloyd began. The brunette simply turned on her heel and left the room, her spine ramrod straight. Lloyd stared at the door as it thumped shut behind her with unseeing eyes. After a moment, he collapsed onto the nearest bed, hugging his shoulders to try and stop the shaking in his limbs.

He'd messed up _bad_ this time.

And he really didn't know how he was going to fix it.

~ ~ ~~ ~ ~

Zelos had a problem.

Well, he had just learned from Kate (who had indeed been very willing to release Presea from the experiment after learning that not only had the wolf managed to free his half-elf friends, but that he had died not long afterwards while defending them) that they would have to visit a dwarf named Altessa in Gaoracchia forest to find a cure for Presea. That was a problem, too, he supposed.

But his _immediate_ problem was one of an entirely different nature.

Lloyd Nix Svafnir Aurion.

More specifically, the fact that he seemed to have developed a hopeless crush _on_ Lloyd Nix Svafnir Aurion.

Martel _damn_ it.

He wasn't exactly sure when it had happened, but it had clearly been going on for a while without his noticing. Sure, he'd thought the boy was attractive from day one (that first glimpse, sprawled out amongst burning wreckage, caught in a halo of light that Zelos's imagination had decided had come from within rather than without), but this... this _infatuation_ had completely slipped under his radar. He had only noticed it at all that morning, when he had spun what he had thought was a highwayman around to find a mud-splattered, soaking wet Lloyd with that goofy smile on his face, completely unhurt.

It was only then that Zelos had realized that he had spent the entirety of the time since Lloyd had disappeared resigning himself to finding the boy horribly injured in some way—or even never finding him at all. Every hour had brought with it a new vision of agony, and a new attempt to get used to it, since the odds of finding him uninjured were so incredibly unlikely. But seeing that smile, hearing that voice for the very first time, had swept all the bloody images away with the rain, and brought a flood of relief that had shaken Zelos to his very core. And that was when he had realized…

Things were going to get a _lot_ more complicated now.

"You go on ahead, little one," he told Presea, coming to a stop in the middle of the street. The girl looked back at him with big, blue eyes. "I need to take care of something first." She nodded slowly and continued onwards towards the inn. Zelos ducked back into the alley they had just passed and leaned against the wall, cradling his head in his hands.

What was he supposed to do, _report this_ to his superiors? 'Hey, Yuan, Pronyma, I've got big news! Wolfy there escaped from Welgaia, and now he's back with us. Oh, and did I mention the fact that he and that brat you're looking for are one and the same, and I just happen to be falling in love with him/them?'

Gah! What was wrong with him? Of all the stupid people he had to fall for, it had to be the _one person_ that both people he was working for wanted dead…

And as sarcastic as he was being, Zelos really didn't know what to do now. He wasn't stupid enough to believe that he was either side's only spy, so not mentioning their group's newest additions was not going to just blow over. Then again, telling Lloyd's made-up tale about Svafnir's death wouldn't hold water, either, since both Pronyma and Yuan would know that no such event had occurred—inasmuch as no one had retrieved Lloyd from Sylvarant, at least.

Of course, he could always just tell the truth…

Zelos's stomach lurched. Telling the truth meant throwing Lloyd to the _real_ dogs, the kind that would tear him apart rather than let the other get what they wanted from him. Cruxis wanted the crystal, nothing else (though that might change if Zelos told the _whole_ truth), and the Renegades just wanted Lloyd to get leverage over Kratos so they could break the stupid Seal. Yuan had figured out their relationship after his failed assassination attempt at Hima—where Lloyd had shouted 'Dad' while shielding him from the spell.

Zelos thumped the back of his head lightly against the bricks. No, no, _no_. What did any of this matter to him, anyway? All he wanted was to give up his title and live in peace. Then Seles would be happy (and out of that damnable Abbey) and so would he. All he wanted to do was correct this stupid, cosmic mistake and get on with how his life was _supposed_ to be. He didn't care what he had to do to get there. Lloyd didn't factor into his plan at _all_.

Except, for some reason, when he thought about living peacefully, or living the way he was supposed to now… all he could think of were two huge pools of liquid chocolate, crinkled into a bright, goofy smile.

"_Think you could let me go now, Zelos?"_

The pink-clad swordsman pushed away from the wall with an inarticulate noise of frustration. He couldn't think about this right now. His thoughts were too… His attention was too preoccupied with… He just couldn't think about it right now. Well, it wasn't like he was exactly trusted by either of his 'bosses' anyway. Skipping one report probably wouldn't get him killed… After all, trusted he was not, but valuable his information certainly was. He'd report tomorrow, and in the meantime he'd try to clear his head of all these stupid, irrelevant thoughts. He had to make a decision soon.

Before the choice was taken out of his hands.

~ ~ ~~ ~ ~

"Hey, Zelos, you asleep?"

"Almost… what is it, bud?"

"Sorry… but I need your help with something."

Zelos sat upright, rubbing his wrist against his eyes and yawning slightly. A quick mutter and a flick of the fingers sent a tiny fireball zooming to light the candle on the nightstand between their beds. He still couldn't believe that no one had thought to ask how he used magic when he was just an ordinary human, but he wasn't about to start complaining if it meant he didn't have to shuffle through the dark looking for a match. The dim light illuminated Lloyd, sitting in much the same position that Zelos was.

"What is it?" the swordsman repeated.

"I think… I can cure Colette," he said haltingly. "If all she needs is a Keycrest…" He leaned forward to grab his jacket off of the foot of his bed, where he'd tossed it, and rifled through its pockets for a moment. He withdrew a small object that glinted silver in the firelight and held it out to Zelos. "I've got this inhibitor ore… If we used one of yours or Genis's fireballs to melt the design off it, then copied the carving from yours, or mine onto it…"

"That's a great idea, bud," Zelos smiled. "…But why, exactly, did you wait till now to suggest it?"

"Because…" Lloyd shifted, embarrassed. "Because I only remembered I had it just now." Zelos snickered. Typical bud. Lloyd hurried to go on, "I-If we started now, I bet we could have it done by morning!"

"And how'll we explain to the others where it came from?" Zelos asked practically.

"…Let's say you met a vendor selling ore on your way back here this afternoon," Lloyd responded after a moment of thought. "And we didn't want to tell them in case we couldn't restore it—which we will, tonight. Okay?" He flashed a quick smile. Zelos yawned again.

"Did it ever occur to you, bud, that some of us _sleep_?" Lloyd's face fell. Zelos smirked. "Then again, if it'll make my hunny smile… Let's do it."

"You're the best, Zelos!" Lloyd beamed. Zelos chuckled.

"I know I am, bud. Now let's get going on this thing, mmkay?"


	26. Waking Up

**Kitty: …I think it would be best if you just started expecting updates every two weeks from now on, if you don't already. That way, if I ever do get one up 'on time', it'll be special…**

**Zelos: Oh, you're special all right, Kitty.**

**Genis: The fic, not her, idiot. The fic, which, by the way, contains plotline and characters that belong to NAMCO, not YearOfTheKitty. **

**Kitty: Yup, yup. Enjoy!**

**Chapter Twenty-Six**

**Waking Up**

"_All of this time, I can't believe I couldn't see;_

_Kept in the dark, but you were there in front of me._

_I've been sleeping a thousand years it seems,_

_Got to open my eyes to everything."_

—_Evanescence, 'Bring me to Life'_

Lloyd was feeling _extremely_ pleased with himself. Not only had he and Zelos managed to forge what he felt was an exceptionally good Keycrest, but he had barely gotten any sleep last night. This was something to be pleased about, considering that the few hours he _had_ slept had been filled with the dead eyes of every single person he'd ever killed, their bodies piled up in a mountain that reached all the way into his beloved sky.

But even the horrors of his nightmares paled in comparison with the idea that he might finally be able to give Colette her soul back. So it was that he showed up for breakfast in the inn's common room that day pale and drawn, with faint circles smudged under his eyes and his trademark ebullience stamped across his face in defiance of the rain that still lashed furious strings against the inn's windows.

Zelos, too, was feeling quite content, though for very different reasons. He hadn't yet come to a conclusion about what he was going to say when it came time to report in, but he _had_ managed to wrangle Lloyd's shirt off of him last night on the pretense of getting a closer look at the Keycrest on his chest. A much, _much_ closer look. It was a good thing the twerp had spent the night in Raine's room (and bed, actually—which had worked out in that his indignant screams upon waking had woken all of them, too, in time to grab breakfast and get an early start) or he might have suffered worse than just a blush and that unique whistling splutter that only the half-elf boy could make.

The others noticed. Even Genis, who sat staring blankly into his bowl of porridge, eventually morosely demanded what Lloyd was looking so happy about. He seemed to resent any kind of cheerfulness in the midst of his own depression as he was. To Genis, there was nothing to be happy about. Svafnir was dead, there was a veritable monsoon outside, the cute girl sitting next to him had about as much life in her as the porridge he was eating, and he could feel Colette's sightless gaze drilling into the back of his skull. Lloyd took the opportunity to stand and address the group as a whole, beaming broadly.

"I've got some good news! The other day, on his way back from the lab, Zelos met a vendor selling inhibitor ore. Now, we didn't tell you all before because neither of us is a dwarf, and we still aren't sure if this is going to work… But we _might_ have made a Keycrest for Colette," he announced.

"Really?!" Genis leaped to his feet, looking torn between disbelief and dawning delight.

"How did you do it?" Raine asked softly, clearly trying not to give in to what might prove to be a false hope.

"We used a knife to copy the carvings on Zelos's Keycrest," Lloyd told her. "Which is why there's a chance it might not work if we messed up part of the design… but it's worth giving a try, don't you think?

"Yeah! Let's do it!" Genis enthused. "Only…" his face fell slightly, looking back and forth between the silent lumberjack and his grinning friend. "…Isn't there enough ore to make a Keycrest for Presea, too?"

"No, we only have enough for one," Lloyd said regretfully. "I wouldn't want to try, anyway, since she's already got a 'crest that does Sylph-knows-what. We might end up making her worse."

"I guess so…" Genis sighed in disappointment.

"Cheer up, twerp," Zelos ordered the half-elf mage. "We're going to see that Altessa guy right now, aren't we? We'll cure the cool cutie now, and my little rosebud will be cured soon, too."

"She's not yours!" Genis bristled, his vigor restored. "C'mon, Lloyd, let's try this thing!"

"Right!" Lloyd nodded and pulled the necklace from his pocket. The Keycrest pendant was an oval with a hole through the center where his Exsphere had once sat, making it a kind of flattened ring. It was certainly unique, he supposed, but the drips of melted metal and wobbly symbols etched into it weren't what anyone would call 'pretty'. He stepped up in front of Colette, who continued to hover and stare blankly at his chest as she always did. The boy swallowed once, nervous now.

"Sorry it's so ugly, but I hope you can accept it anyway, Colette," he whispered softly. "I'm glad you kept your promise."

He lifted his arms and slipped the silver chain over her blonde head. The pendant settled against the gold filigree on her collarbone with a tiny _clink!_ of metal. Lloyd stepped back, biting his lip. Genis hopped from foot to foot anxiously, his hands clasped in uncanny imitation of his comatose friend.

"Colette?" he finally called, his voice wavering. "Colette, can you hear me? Please, Colette, say something!"

"It didn't work…" Lloyd looked down and clenched his fists to keep the tears at bay. He'd known there was the chance—he'd said it himself: they were no dwarves—but he'd hoped…

…He'd hoped…

"It didn't work!" he repeated, turning and slamming his fist against the wall beside the unresponsive blonde angel. Hopeless anger poured down like the rain, filling Lloyd up like a cup left out in the storm. But, just like a cup in a storm, his body wasn't nearly enough to contain the flood, and it overflowed around him with directionless destruction, washing over the Keycrest (for not working), over Zelos (for not making it right), over Colette herself (for not responding), and even over Genis (for being so upset, even after he'd said it might not work), and Presea (for still being able to speak and hear), and Sheena (for looking at him so disappointedly), and Raine, too (just for being there).

"Come on, guys," Sheena said quietly. "We've got to get moving if we want to make it to Gaoracchia Forest by tonight." The purple-clad brunette turned and exited the room with slow, measured steps. Raine looked at her brother, opened her mouth, closed it again, and shook her head as she followed the ninja. Genis stayed, staring at Colette as if still waiting for a response that they both knew wasn't coming. Lloyd swore loudly, pounding his fist against the wall again.

"It's okay, bud," Zelos tried his previous hand-on-the-shoulder trick in an attempt to calm his friend down. He was slightly panicked at the intense flood of emotions his attempt to help had been met with, and even more mystified by the feeling now coursing through him. It felt… bad. Zelos honestly couldn't recall an instance where he had looked back on his actions and thought that he really should have thought them through a little more—but he was doing it now. And, to be honest, he felt pretty low, looking at the tears gathering in Lloyd's eyes and knowing _he_ had helped put them there. (Not the others—he didn't care about them. The stupid half-elf brat could cry till he collapsed from dehydration for all Zelos cared. Speaking of which…)

"It's not okay!" Genis burst out, his voice rising and breaking in a pattern that was becoming far, far too familiar to Lloyd, who felt each wobbling syllable as a stab of guilt. "It's been eighteen days. _Eighteen days_ she's been like this! She hasn't tripped, she hasn't apologized, she hasn't named a stray dog, she hasn't smiled or cried or sung or prayed _once_ in eighteen days! How many more days won't she be _Colette_? What'll happen if she wakes up and realizes that she's lost _months_ of her life, months she's never going to be able to remember or _live_!"

"D-Don't worry… We're going to find a cure for her soon," Zelos's hands hovered in front of him uncertainly. Crying women he could handle. A murmured phrase, a stroke of the hair, and they were putty in his hands. A crying child—a crying _male_ child—was something he'd never had the necessity or inclination to deal with before. But Lloyd was right there, and _he_ was just as upset…

"When is 'soon', huh?!" Genis rounded on the redheaded swordsman, his despair peaking as tears spilled down his face. "It's not soon enough! I don't care about your stupid promises! I just… _I just want Colette back!_"

Three teardrops fell, glinting in the candlelight like tiny stars. Like the thousands of drops that glittered as they fell outside, swathing the world in crystalline brilliance. Like the countless swirls of glinting rays that shone on the wrong side of the unseeing clouds that shrouded the sky. They splattered on the floor, soaking through into the porous wood. Only water after all. Only rain.

_Rain, rain, go away…_

Genis sobbed, not caring who was watching or what kind of tantrum he was throwing. He just couldn't stop himself. What wasn't there to cry about? Svafnir, Presea, Colette, the _stupid rain_…

"I just want Colette back…" he whispered again.

Two arms slid around the little half-elf mage, embracing him with such gentleness that it was almost fierce. Warmth slid over his shaking figure, the solid presence at his back soothing some of the pain. He wasn't alone. There was someone there to comfort him, to share his grief, someone there to embrace him…

Someone who wasn't Lloyd (who was gaping at Genis from a few feet away) or Zelos (who would never have hugged him even if he hadn't been doing the same thing as Lloyd).

"I'm sorry, Genis…" a light, apologetic voice whispered in his ear. "Don't cry. I'm back."

"Col—?" Genis turned his head slowly without moving his body, almost afraid of what he was going to see. Golden hair tickled his nose, and a round face with a snub nose and smiled sadly at him from only inches away. Tears glittered in its wide blue eyes, waves of stars crashing against the shore of eyelashes, gathering to stream down her face in ribbons of starlight.

"I'm back," Colette repeated softly.

"Colette!" Genis whirled around, breaking free of her arms, only to dive forward and wrap his own limbs around her with crushing force. He squeezed as tightly as he could, the tears coming faster now, terrified that any moment those eyes would redden and glaze back over. "Y-You're really back…!"

"I'm so sorry, Genis," Colette put her arms back around her friend, laying her cheek on top of his. "I tried to answer all of you when you called, I really did—but I couldn't find you. But I heard you just now, and this time I managed to find my way back, somehow."

"You ditz," Genis sobbed. "No sense of direction at all…"

"Sorry," Colette said again. "I'm so sorry, Genis. Poor Svafnir… He's really gone, isn't he…?"

"Colette," Lloyd finally found his voice. He felt like an intruder, watching the childhood friends reunite like this. As a matter of fact, he was still getting over the shock of watching Colette's eyes suddenly blink and sharpen at Genis's cry, and seeing the girl who had floated along like a white-gold ghost for the past eighteen days drop to her feet (the omnipresent wings vanishing like blown candles) and move to embrace him while his back was turned. He had a feeling that shock would be a long time in passing, tempered as it was by his joy.

But that joy was dampened, seeing the tears streaking his reanimated friend's once-sunny face. It was… awful. What kind of reunion was this? It wasn't fair at all for either of them.

"Lloyd," Colette lifted her head, but didn't let go of her younger friend. "Did he tell you?"

"He did," Lloyd nodded, forcing a painful smile onto his face. "He's proud of you, Colette. You shouldn't cry."

"Shouldn't…?" Colette released her hold on Genis to press her hands to her mouth. Genis pulled away, his face slack with incomprehension. "How can you say that… after Svafnir…?"

"You're back now," Lloyd said vehemently. "You're not going away again, ever. There's time to cry. But for right now… you're back! You should be happy! Aren't you?"

"Of… of course I am…" Colette lowered her hands to her chest, her mouth twitching into the ghost of a smile. "I'm so happy I could burst… But it's not right to…"

"Svafnir doesn't want you to cry," Lloyd said firmly. "So don't make him unhappy. Enjoy this. You're not going anywhere."

"I… understand," Colette's smile grew wider, her head tilting down, her hands still cupped over her heart. "You're right. Svafnir's inside of us now, and if we're sad, then so is he. I don't want my friends to be sad… So I'll be happy. For Svafnir."

"Yeah, me, too," Genis declared, scrubbing at his eyes and sniffing tremendously. A smile rose to his face as he drunk in the sight of Colette yet again. "I can't believe you're finally back, Colette!"

"It's just like I thought…" Zelos suddenly spoke. Colette turned to him with polite puzzlement.

"Oh? What's that?"

"You're positively adorable when you smile!" the Tethe'allan Chosen declared with a grin that felt only slightly pasted-on. And if anybody noticed that he was looking at Lloyd when he said it, nobody thought it worth mentioning.

"R-Really?" Colette colored a bit. "Thank you!"

"How many times do I have to tell you to stop flirting with Colette, you dumb womanizer?!" Genis demanded.

"What's that? I thought I heard a fly buzzing around in here, but I guess it was just my imagination," Zelos said with a careless glance around the room.

"Huh? I didn't see a fly in here," Colette's head slid to the side. "Are you afraid of bugs, Zelos?"

"The Great and Powerful Warrior Zelos fears no insect," Zelos asserted. Then, with a glance at Genis, "Even the human-shaped ones."

"Human-shaped…? Are you feeling all right? I think you're getting sick," Colette's confusion morphed to concern in a moment. "Maybe you should lie down."

"Only if you lie down with m—OW!" Zelos clutched his shoulder where Lloyd had punched him and whimpered. "That hurt, bud!"

"Take it like a Great and Powerful Warrior," Lloyd instructed. Genis laughed in wicked delight. Colette, not quite understanding what was going on but still feeling as light as sunshine, giggled with him. Before any more banter could be exchanged, the door creaked open to admit the bustling form of Professor Raine Sage in full getting-things-done mode, seemingly completely recovered from her earlier disappointment.

"Genis, Lloyd, Zelos, what is going on in here? I understand you're all upset, but we really need to get… go… ing…" the half-elf healer stopped dead halfway across the room, blinking rapidly, her mouth hanging open in a decidedly un-Raine-like expression. Colette beamed at her joyfully.

"Professor! I'm back!" she called out.

"Colette…" the woman trailed. After a frozen moment, she seemed to collect herself, mostly, though her smile was a bit unsteady. "You're fully recovered? No lingering symptoms of your transformation?"

"Nope! I can talk again, and feel, and I'm even a little hungry!" the blonde girl reported cheerfully. She paused a moment before continuing. "…I still have my wings, I think. But other than that, I'm okay."

"That's good to hear," Raine's smile became even more genuine. She didn't hug Colette, but Lloyd hadn't expected her to. Just as the old Colette had returned, she seemed to have brought back with her the old Sage siblings as well.

"Raine, what's the holdup…?" Sheena appeared in the doorway. She, like Raine, halted dead in shock for a moment as she took in the tableau before her. Unlike Raine, she had thrown herself across the room an instant later with a joyful cry to scoop Colette into a bone-crushing hug.

"Colette! You're back! Don't you ever do something that stupid again, or next time we're not rescuing you, understand?!" she shouted. "Lloyd, Zelos, you really did it!"

"Did you ever doubt?" Zelos made a grand gesture. "The Great Zelos is nigh unstoppable in his own right, but with his bud by his side, he's downright invincible!"

"His bud has a name," Lloyd griped, a huge grin on his face.

"Whatever you say, bud."

"So I guess this means we're putting off the trip for a day or so, huh?" Sheena finally released the smaller girl, unable to contain her happiness. "I mean, it'd be cruel to make you go through that storm on your first day back and all…"

"But isn't it cruel to make Presea wait?" Zelos asked, mildly.

"Oh… That's right," Colette nodded. "We have to help Presea. Don't worry about me."

"Hey, hey, hey!" Lloyd spoke up, indignantly. "Don't start forcing decisions on Colette the moment she can make them! She's not ready to take the lead again yet."

("No, really…" Colette began, feebly.)

"Lloyd's right," Genis agreed. "You shouldn't start pressuring her."

"All right then," Raine folded her arms. "What do _you_ propose we do, then, Lloyd? Since you are clearly the most capable to lead right now."

("Please don't fight…" Colette tried again.)

"I think we should wait until the storm clears," Lloyd asserted, stepping up to the challenge instead of faltering under it like the teacher had clearly expected him to. "If it stops this afternoon, then we can go then and camp out tonight. But if we go out in this weather now, Colette might get really sick, since she hasn't felt the cold in so long—and she's got to eat soon, anyway, so we might as well wait here."

"I… agree," Genis nodded again, casting an apologetic glance at the silent girl in the corner. "As much as I want to help Presea, I don't want Colette getting sick."

"If we're voting, then I'm with the twerp, for once," Zelos said. "Bud's plan makes sense." And he wasn't saying that just because he had a crush on him. As a matter of fact, he had been surprised at this sudden outpouring of intelligence from his winged friend—the return of whose voice, he was forced to admit, hadn't changed Zelos's opinion of his intelligence much.

"Fine, then," Raine sighed shortly. "We'll wait for it to stop raining. I'll be in our room, then. Don't get into any trouble." The professor turned on her heel and exited the room once more in a manner that clearly conveyed her disapproval.

"Jeez," Genis muttered with a pout. "You'd think she wasn't happy to see Colette at all."

"You'd be wrong," Sheena told him. "She's really happy—but don't you want this all to be over with, too? The sooner we get going, the sooner you can go home."

"I can see that," Zelos nodded.

"Yeah, I guess…" Genis sighed.

"I'm okay, really," Colette put in once more, a little less parenthetically this time. "You don't have to fight about me."

"We want to," Lloyd smiled at her. "Don't _you_ worry about that. Now, c'mon, Genis, let's go make the staff let you cook Colette's first meal as a human again."

"Yeah, okay!" Genis nodded emphatically, his grin back. "You wait here, Colette, I'll cook you the best meal you've ever tasted!" The half-elf rushed from the room, practically glowing with excitement. Lloyd followed, leaving the three girls alone together as Zelos followed _him_.

"What are you going to do while we wait for the storm to clear?" Zelos suddenly spoke up. Lloyd blinked.

"Um. I hadn't planned anything, actually. I came up with that plan on the spot."

"You… what?!" Zelos was, for once, struck speechless. He had been sure at least a _modicum_ of thought had gone into that little speech! It wasn't like people just analyzed situations unconsciously…

But, apparently, he was wrong about _that_, too.

"I do my best talking when I don't think about it," Lloyd said carelessly. "It's how I come up with half the stuff I come up with. But was there something you wanted to ask, Zelos?"

"Uh, yeah," Zelos scooped his jaw off the floor and collected himself. "I was just thinking that if you don't have anything better to do today… Maybe I could give you a little magic lesson."

"A… what?" Now it was Lloyd's turn to be lost for words. His eyes bugged. "Magic? _Me_?"

"You're an angel, aren't you? Colette uses magic when she fights all the time," Zelos replied. "And since you don't have a weapon, I thought it would be nice for you not to have to rely on all of us for protection once we're in the Forest."

"Y-Yeah…" Lloyd chewed this over for a few moments. A smile rose to his face slowly. "Yeah, I'd love to! That's a great idea, Zelos!"

"But of course," the nobleman sniffed haughtily.

"Hey," Genis's head poked around the frame of the door leading to the kitchen ahead of them, "are you two coming, or what? I can't reach the shelves!"

Lloyd grinned and hurried up. It wasn't often your friend practically _handed_ you taunts to use against him. This was not an opportunity to be wasted.

"Okay, so… Angel Feathers…?"

"You're breaking my heart here, bud!" Zelos cried out from behind Lloyd. "What kind of spell was _that_?"

"The kind where I don't know what to do!" Lloyd shouted back. They weren't all that far apart, but the solid sheets of rain all around making talking a difficult proposition. It was just a few hours previously that they had finished helping Genis cook Colette's breakfast and watched her enjoy it. After that, they had stepped out into the small lot behind the inn that was mostly taken up by a small herb-and-vegetable garden to make good on Zelos's promise to teach Lloyd to use magic. "She just says 'Angel Feathers' and waves her arm, and little feathers of light shoot out!"

"Obviously she's doing more than that," Zelos rolled his eyes. "You gotta use the _magic_, not just say the words!"

"I've never used magic before, how am I supposed to know what to do?!"

"Okay, okay, don't get all worked up," Zelos's voice was suddenly a lot closer, and a bit quieter. Lloyd wasn't sure if the prickling he felt on the back of his neck was just the rain, or breath on his skin. "Do you know why elves and half-elves—and, apparently, angels—can use magic but humans can't?"

"Um… no."

"It's because humans blocked themselves off from the mana in the world around them a long, long time ago—even before the Ancient War. Sure, there's still mana _in_ humans, but they're so out of tune with it that they can't find it inside themselves anymore. But that's not the case here," Zelos's voice came even closer. Now Lloyd was _sure_ that was breath on his ear. It was warmer than the chilled air all around him. So why was he still getting goosebumps…?

Lloyd jumped in surprise as Zelos's arm suddenly came around him and took hold of his own hand. The redheaded nobleman laced their fingers together and lifted Lloyd's arm to press his own hand against his stomach. Lloyd's back was almost flush against the other young man. There wasn't much warmth—Zelos was in the freezing rain just like he was, after all—but the closeness was starting to make Lloyd a little nervous. There was this… tension… there that hadn't been before. And he honestly wasn't sure where it was coming from.

"When I cast spells, I feel it right here in my stomach. Try pulling your power from there," Zelos continued. Lloyd was almost surprised to hear him still lecturing about magic.

_Well, what_ else _were you expecting?_

"R-Right," he nodded shakily. "I'll give it a shot. Maybe you should stand back…?"

"Are you kidding? The closer I am to you, the safer I am from your aim," Zelos laughed. Nevertheless, he released his hold on Lloyd's hand, which fell limply to the brunet's side, feeling oddly cold now. The young angel raised it anyway, and held it out in front of him as he had seen Colette do.

He slid his eyes shut and concentrated on the pit of his stomach. He hadn't used it for much in recent times, but in the past his stomach had always been the center of his universe. Every action, every though, had revolved around calming the painful pangs that had all too regularly plagued his gut. Every lie had been calculated to fill it, and every moment of fullness was a relished treasure. Even then, he'd always been sensitive to mana, and had relied on the feeling in his gut to warn him away from dangerous (magical) places. And during the angel transformation, his stomach had been the first part of him to react and one of the last of his body's functions to stop working.

As he remembered all of this, he tried to call the feeling of mana to his gut yet again. He visualized the cold, watery feeling of it pooling within him and then trickling up along his arm and outwards. He envisioned it surging out of him like a tidal wave, coming out in the glowing shapes of his friend's favored attack.

"Angel Feathers!"

Lloyd gasped as the magic surged through him. It was not like a tidal wave, but more akin to a hurricane. Cold, yes, but a cutting cold instead of a creeping one—damp, yes, but more airy than anything else. Whirling, spinning, filling him up like a tornado in a bottle. The wind howled down the only escape route in him: his arm.

Glowing, silvery-blue feathers spat out of the tips of Lloyd's fingers, like razor-edged fireworks. They dissolved into colored fireflies after going just a few inches away from his hand, and the hurricane within his body subsided, leaving behind desolated stillness, like the aftermath of some terrible tragedy.

Lloyd dropped his arm, his shoulders slumping. He'd expected to be tired—Genis and Raine had always been fatigued after using too much magic at once, and this _was_ his first time—but the feeling wasn't quite what he had been anticipating. Instead of the simple exhaustion of having run for miles, Lloyd felt as if he'd just come home from a terrible day of bad luck and hard work only to find that his house was cold and he had no food—so mentally and emotionally worn-out that it became physical, and all he wanted to do was lay down to nap right there in the deluging rain.

"Hey, good work!" Zelos beamed proudly, throwing both of his arms around Lloyd's neck. He couldn't help himself. How was it that Lloyd could be handsome both grinning like a loon _and_ in deep thought? Only Zelos was allowed to do that…

Eh, maybe he could make an exception in this case.

"Jeez," Lloyd mumbled, weaving his fingers through the hair at his temple. "Is this how it always feels?"

"I don't know; I can't tell how it feels for anyone but me," Zelos shrugged without removing his arms. Lloyd's voice was a low murmur, almost blending into the rain.

"It feels like the worst day I've ever had and knowing that tomorrow will be just as bad, and all I want to do is go to sleep so I don't have to face it…" the angel described. "But before that, it was so… _amazing_. Like flying right through a hurricane, the wind filling me to the brim—so _cold_—and then spilling out my fingertips. And taking all my energy with it."

"Hmm," Zelos hummed. "Really? Mine feels cold, too, but tickling… Like flames made of ice. And when I use too much… Well, it's nothing like yours, anyway. I guess it's different for each person." _Or maybe the Aionis isn't quite as accurate an imitation as we had thought_, he added with a mental shrug. It didn't make much difference.

"I guess…" Lloyd swayed without realizing it. It was ridiculous how affected he was by just one botched-up spell, he thought with feeble indignation. Zelos noticed the sway, and slid his hands up to his friend's shoulders, using them to guide him back towards the inn's back door.

"Come on, bud, I think that's enough for now."

"But we just got started!" Lloyd protested, despite his drooping shoulders. "I didn't even do the spell right…"

"Now that you know how to, it'll get easier with practice," Zelos asserted confidently. "For now, I need to get out of this rain before _all_ the waves are gone from my glorious hair!"

"Too late," Lloyd noted, glancing at the bone-straight sheet of red plastered to the swordsman's back. He looked strange, the brunet thought again, with his hair slicked down and straight like that instead of standing up on top and wildly curly at the ends like it usually was. Then again, he probably looked pretty strange with his usually-untamable man slicked down, too.

"You see? My devilish good looks are ruined!" Zelos lamented, still pushing Lloyd towards the door. "Next I'll be sniffling and coughing all over the place! Can you imagine me—_me_!—with a runny nose? The ladies will be so disgusted that they'll never look at me again!"

"And what a tragedy that would be," Lloyd muttered with a frown, giving up resisting and allowing himself to be steered inside. That rant had bothered him, for some reason. He felt a little guilty, too—even though he'd only thought Zelos looked _strange_, not bad. Even with his hair like that, the Chosen was just as good-looking as ever, with his aristocratic features, perfectly straight teeth, and vivid eyes that were perpetually tilted, as if amused at some private joke.

Lloyd blinked and looked away from Zelos with another frown. He puzzled for a few moments, shrugged, and slipped off his boots, pouring a lake of water out of each one. The rest of that day was spent drying out/napping in front of the common room's fire and talking with Genis and Colette about everything the girl had missed while she had been half-aware.

This time, all three boys retired to their allotted room, while Presea and Colette took the one set aside for them, and Raine and Sheena remained closeted in theirs as they had been for most of the day. Lloyd took some extra bedding and crashed on the floor (since there were only two beds), deaf to his companions' objections. He'd slept on worse, and he didn't want to wake anyone sharing the bed with him when he succumbed to the inevitable nightmares waiting to ambush him the moment he lost consciousness. Eventually, the other two (in a rare moment of agreement) threw up their hands in exasperation and settled down to sleep. It wasn't long before three sets of deep, even breath filled the air.

Gray hints of dawn were casting deep shadows across the room when Lloyd sat bolt upright, his breath coming in wild gasps. His face was flushed red, and his hair was plastered to his skin with sweat. The look in his eyes, however, was not terror, and the feeling coursing through him was the furthest thing from fear he could have possibly imagined.

"_Mmm… Lloyd… ah…"_

"_Z-Zelos… nnggh…"_

_That_ had _not_ been a nightmare.


	27. Brother In Arms

**Kitty: Kay, peeps, I got a question for you all! That's right, it's READER INTERACTION right here. Anyway, Ipsiety's still going strong, and we've got a ways to go yet, but even so, the idea for a sequel's been rattling around in my head for a while. It will, as this one does, follow the game (DotNW/KoR) with (YES, I know) Emil as the main character. I've got the basic sketch of a plot outlined, which brings me to my question…**

**Zelos: Drumroll please…**

**Kitty: PAIRINGS. The plot's ambiguous enough for me to work whatever you guys (yes, YOU) want to see. Obviously, the main one's gonna be slash (sorry, EmilxMarta fans), but some minor pairings might be het (like the Gesea in this story). So… RichterxEmil? RatatoskxEmil? RatatoskxMarta? What do you wanna see?? **

**Genis: DON'T JUST TELL HER. There's a poll up on her profile titled 'pairings for Ipseity's sequel'. Vote THERE. If the pairing you want isn't an option, THEN you can tell her in a review or in a PM. **

**Kitty: I'm not sure if anon reviewers can vote in polls, so if not, you're the exception to that, okay? Tell me in a review. All you logged-in peeps out there better VOTE PLEASE!**

**Zelos: Gawd, my poor ears… T.T YearoftheKitty does not own Tales of Symphonia.**

**Kitty: Thank you, enjoy, and VOTE!**

**Chapter Twenty-Seven**

**Brother-In-Arms**

"_If I held my ground, would you ask me to change?_

_This drought bleeds on; now we're dancing for rain._

_Drink the air, but it's still not the same._

_These worlds collide, but the distance remains._

_We point the finger, never accept the blame."_

—_Rise Against, 'Dancing for Rain'_

It was ridiculous to be avoiding him. It was _stupid_ to be staring at his own boots while he walked just so that he wouldn't accidentally start staring again. It was positively _ludicrous_ for Lloyd to strike up a lively conversation with Colette every time Zelos glanced in his direction, hoping the cheerful blonde didn't notice that his ears were the same shade as the nobleman's hair.

Of course Zelos had noticed it, he berated himself. He knew that—the man wasn't stupid like Lloyd. He'd have to make up a reason to be avoiding him soon, before he asked. No matter what horrible situation his lies had gotten him into lately, telling _this_ truth would be like handing the executioner his neck measurements. Just _begging_ for death.

Because as stupid as he admitted himself to be, Lloyd wasn't ignorant as to the meaning of that particular not-nightmare. He'd had that conversation with Marble and Chocolat—_jointly_, he shuddered to remember—around the time when he'd been ten-ish. He _knew_ what his body was telling him, and he'd realized that all the staring he'd been doing hadn't been as harmless as he'd thought.

Lloyd officially had a crush on the straightest man in either world.

And that was why lying was, in this case, completely acceptable. Zelos was straighter than an arrow. He hit on _Sheena_, for Efreet's sake—Sheena, _and her girlfriend_. At the same. TIME. He had his own Celsius-damned harem! The guy was the very _face_ of straightness… Pink clothes and effeminate speaking habits notwithstanding. And that touchy-feely thing he had going on…

…Though, when Lloyd thought about it, Zelos only really had that 'touchy-feely thing' going on with _him_.

Lloyd slapped himself mentally a moment later for even entertaining the thought. If Zelos tried to hug any of the others in the group, he'd get his entrails ripped out faster than you could say 'perv'. Even Colette—though the entrail-ripping in that case would most likely be done jointly by Raine, Sheena, and Genis—was not fair game. Only Lloyd was comfortable enough with his sexuality to let his male friend hug him.

…Or, he _had_ been…

Lloyd argued back and forth in his head the entire trek to Gaoracchia Forest. It was only once they were inside the trees that his attention became completely focused on where they were going and what they were doing again. This had much to do with the fact that Gaoracchia Forest was just plain creepy. Lloyd had never seen its like before—the canopy above was so thick that any light that seeped through was distilled and murky. The trunks were gnarled and pitted, some with grooves deep enough to swallow your entire hand. The ground was littered with an ankle-deep coating of leaf-mold and rotting wood, and striped with fat creepers that wound around the tree trunks like constricting snakes strangling their victims. The branches themselves were twisted and bony, and rattled in the slight, damp breeze like the accusing ghost of a hanged man pointing to the real culprit.

The group had barely gotten ten yards into the trees when they were ambushed by a waiting troop of Papal Knights. There were, fortunately, only four of them, so the six of them who could actually fight managed to fend them off with relative ease. Lloyd hovered uselessly behind Presea, watching Zelos's face twist with his scowl before looking away quickly.

They moved on swiftly, knowing that other Knights would not be far behind. Their brief 'siesta' in Sybak had allowed the Pope the opportunity to catch up with them. Now their best chance was to lose themselves in the graveyard silence of the Forest of Death. Lloyd shuddered.

"You know," the voice spoke from Lloyd's shoulder, startling the boy so badly that his breath caught in his throat as he jerked around. Zelos smirked slightly, continuing, "the Gaoracchia Forest used to be just a normal forest a long time ago."

"O-Oh, really?" Lloyd forced an interested look onto his face.

"But then, one day, a thief stole a treasure deep in the forest," the redheaded swordsman continued, pitching his voice so that it was low and dramatic, making a sweeping gesture with his arm.

"Treasure?" Lloyd repeated, his ears pricking. "What kind of treasure?"

"If he stole it, Lloyd, then it's not still there for you to steal," Genis put in with a roll of his eyes from the brunet's other side. Lloyd flushed.

"I-I knew that! I just wanted to know what kind of treasure would be in a regular old forest!"

"It was a jewel worth several billion gald," Zelos told him, his face completely serious. "So anyway, he slaughtered anyone who came looking for it."

"Whoa… That's horrible…" Genis's eyes went perfectly round, his mouth dropping open slightly at the thought. Lloyd shivered in earnest, recalling a few run-ins he'd had with some of his less scrupulous… colleagues.

"Over time, the forest became stained with blood," Zelos's voice dropped even further, "transforming into a cursed place, haunted by the lingering resentment of the people killed here."

"…Ugh… are you serious?" Lloyd shivered again, casting a glance around at the silent trees surrounding them. The towering monoliths seemed to lean closer, listening to the tale. Genis broke the silence with a thin, wavering chuckle.

"Ah, haha, you're just trying to scare us… right?" he squeaked.

"Even now, when travelers enter the forest, the thief's ghost comes to kill them. And the ones he killed also seek to increase their numbers…" Zelos's voice was a mere whisper now.

At that moment, a breeze cut through the forest, causing a hiss reminiscent of a waterfall to cascade through the leaves both above and below them. It clawed at their skin with icy nails, and wailed like a lost child.

This wail, however, did not quite hide the heavy thump of boots as _something_ fell from the trees before them. The shape was hulking and dark, and it loomed before them with the sound of heavy breath and clinking metal. Genis fell back with a scream.

"Ahh! It's the thief's ghost!"

"Oh no!" Colette cried out, her voice cracking with distress. Sheena, Zelos, and Raine each fell into a battle-ready stance, grasping the situation a bit more quickly. Lloyd, who had been at the forefront of the group alongside Zelos and Genis, lifted his fists uncertainly. He had no time to fall to the back if the thing attacked now… But he couldn't use what little magic he could use, or risk outing one of his many secrets. He'd just have to hope that his angelic strength would make up for his nonexistent hand-to-hand combat skills—as well as hoping that no one would _notice_ that strength…

The thing stepped forward, into a patch of slightly-less-dark murkiness. It was a tall ogre of a man, bound with thick cords of muscle and easily twice as broad as Zelos. His hair was a thick, matted mane of blue that tumbled over his shoulders in a way that reminded Lloyd uncomfortably of himself. Furthering that similarity were the stained, tattered clothing he wore, and the heavy manacles clamped around his wrists.

"It's that convict from the sewers in Meltokio!" Sheena recognized him first. "The one who tried to kill us on the orders of the Pope," she added for Lloyd's benefit.

"The convict?" Genis repeated, his eyes lighting up in fearful recognition. And no wonder. This man could _step_ on the little half-elf and never notice. "L-Lloyd, you're a convict! Can't you talk to him?!"

"Criminality is not a club, Genis!" Lloyd shouted back, frantically, as the convict took another step closer.

"A criminal?" the man was surprisingly soft-spoken, his voice a low, almost comforting baritone. There was no discernable accent in his voice, and his articulacy was completely at odds with his rough appearance. "You have gained companions since last we fought, Chosen."

"I thought you said I wasn't worthy to be called the Chosen?" Zelos snorted, tightening his grip on his sword.

"You are not. One who consorts with criminals is just such a man himself," the chained man was so matter-of-fact that it actually took Lloyd a minute to realize he'd been insulting Zelos.

"Don't talk about Zelos like that!" he immediately growled, consequences be damned. He'd take on this bear-man with his bare hands if he kept on bad-mouthing Lloyd's pack like that.

"I have no quarrel with you," the man said. "My orders were to retrieve a girl named Colette."

"Me?" Colette pointed to herself in surprise, clearly identifying herself for whatever hostile intentions this obviously dangerous individual had for her.

_Gnome, how I've missed you, Colette,_ the boy thought fondly, beginning a mental catalogue of all the things he was going to do to her if they got out of this fight together and unhurt.

"You're not getting to Colette," was what he said out loud, as confidently as an unarmed, untrained boy half the size of his opponent could say. The blue-haired convict bent his legs, clearly preparing to charge.

"Then you leave me no choice." And then, just like that, he was there. Lloyd didn't even have time to cry out as something struck him in the chest, sending him skidding backwards on his wings.

_Ouch…_ Lloyd opened eyes he'd reflexively shut, his vision a blur of flying leaves and moving people before a sharp CLANG resounded, and everything fell still. The blurs resolved themselves into a tableau: Zelos and Genis on either side of the ogre-man, their weapons raised and ready, though, for the moment, still. The man himself was in what was probably an extremely uncomfortable position, his foot blocked on its way down from an axe kick directed at Lloyd's sprawled form. The one blocking him was Presea, her axe haft held crossways in front of her with both hands, her legs planted far apart as she strained to hold up the added weight.

For some reason, the man's eyes widened until they threatened to fall from his head. He leaped backwards, using the foot on Presea's axe as leverage, and sending the small girl tumbling backwards onto Lloyd's stomach.

He honestly wasn't sure if getting axe-kicked would have been much less painful.

"You… who are you?" the convict murmured in surprise, his eyes fixed on Presea as the pink-haired lumberjack disentangled herself from Lloyd—who wasn't really much help, with as much twitching and moaning as he was doing. The girl did not answer, but raised her axe yet again, taking a defensive position in front of her fallen friend. (And here Lloyd had to push away the nagging idea that if it had been anyone else felled by that bear, Presea would not have come to their aid so quickly, nor continued to defend them. He really had no idea why the mostly-soulless little girl had become so attached to him. Maybe she considered _this_ 'keeping his secret'…?)

"You can't honestly attack us and then demand to know who we are!" Sheena snapped, irritated that she hadn't moved quickly enough to help. She inched up closer beside Presea, while Colette did the same on the girl's other side.

"As I said, you have gained companions since last we fought," the blue-haired criminal lapsed into thought, his forehead furrowing. Eventually, he began, "Please, let me speak with that girl. I will do you no harm if you allow me this."

"Oh, sure, why not?" Zelos drawled in a sarcastic falsetto. "It's not like you just tried to kill my bud or anything!"

"Yeah, you're not getting anywhere near Presea!" Genis asserted in a more aggressive tone than Lloyd had ever heard him use before.

"I desire nothing more than to speak with her. Presea… is her name, correct?" the man insisted, flicking his gaze over the group. His eyes came to rest once more on the pink-pigtailed girl, traveling down from her face until they stopped at the Exsphere on her collarbone. He sucked in a breath. "An Exsphere? You are yet another victim?!"

He stepped forward, his bound hands held outwards. What he planned to do was unknown, but Presea didn't appreciate his efforts in any case. She slashed at the man with her big axe, causing him to leap aside with an agility that belied his muscular frame.

"Presea's in danger!" Genis shouted, thrusting his kendama forward. As if his words had broken a dam, suddenly everyone was rushing forward, throwing themselves at the blue-haired convict as he lashed out with his feet. Lloyd scooted backwards on his butt, trying to get out of their way. It was a horrible feeling, this uselessness…

Fortunately, it didn't last long. With six people against one, even the obviously-skilled criminal succumbed after a while. His body made a thump like a felled tree as he fell over, unconscious.

"_Where have you _been_…"_

"…_Zelos?!"_

"_Calm down, my lady. I only missed one or two reports, didn't I? You've got other spies."_

"_None on the inside, as you very well know. Why have you disobeyed my direct orders in this way?"_

"_I was waiting for more information."_

"…_What do you mean?"_

"_As you probably know by now, our group is two members up at the moment. It seems Lloyd Nix is back from wherever he's been hiding, and he brought a friend."_

"_The boy is Lloyd Nix? Why didn't you report this immediately?!"_

"_He doesn't have an Exsphere."_

"…_What…?"_

"_He says he hid it for safekeeping, but he won't say where or in what world. Heck, he won't even say how he got to this world, only that the wolf, Svafnir, died along the way. I figured reporting in to say 'I have no clue what's going on' wouldn't go down so well with you, _my lady, _so I waited."_

"…_I see. Do not do so again. This is intriguing… You were there when Lord Kratos took the mutt, but, according to him, it escaped on the way to Welgaia… Perhaps it returned to Sylvarant and led the boy to the teleporter in the Tower, which they used to jump worlds, though that does not explain how the mongrel died…"_

"_Don't look at me. I don't know any more than you. Lady."_

"_Yes, well. Next time, do not hesitate so long before reporting. It makes you seem… untrustworthy."_

"_Martel perish the thought."_

"_Enough of this. Continue to gain their trust, particularly the boy's, so that you may find out where he hid those Exspheres!"_

"_Roger, ma'am."_

"_Ugh!"_

"…_Well that was fun. Ahh, well. Here we go again…"_

"…_Hey, Yuan, my man! You miss me?"_

When Regal's eyes twitched open, he was vaguely surprised to be met with blinding daylight and a clear blue sky, instead of green murkiness and twisted boughs. Even odder, he didn't feel even a twinge of pain, despite just waking up from having been beaten unconscious. It did cross his mind to wonder if those children had actually killed him, but he discarded that thought immediately. It was irrational and just wishful thinking, anyway. He wasn't going to wake to a clear blue sky when he died—the cold, heavy weight on his wrists attested to _that_.

Abruptly, his view was blocked by something dark. He blinked, resolving the image into a teenage boy's face with dark eyes and a mane of dirt-colored hair that was well on its way to becoming as impressive as Regal's own. The face was currently alive with childish curiosity that was oddly juxtaposed next to an adult concern.

"Hey, you awake?" the boy asked. His voice jogged Regal's memory. This was the boy who had stood next to the Chosen in the Forest, the one he'd attacked, the one… _Presea_ had defended. His fellow 'convict'.

"I am," Regal replied quietly. "Would you please move away so that I can sit up?"

"Oh, right. Sorry," the boy chuckled uncomfortably and threw himself backwards onto his haunches, watching as Regal levered himself into a sitting position. The blue-haired man took a long look at his surroundings, trying to gain his bearings. He was in an unfamiliar village—which was saying something, considering how extensively he'd traveled in his lifetime. The people walking to and fro were dressed in a slightly old-fashioned style of clothing, and Regal did not see a single person who didn't walk with the precise, measured movements of a trained fighter. Even the children he saw playing in the streets were playing games of agility, sneakiness, or weaponry. A village of warriors.

More immediately, he and the maned boy were seated on a slight slope (it leveled off on top, and as such could not quite be considered a hill) of grass just beside the largest house in the village. A little stream trickled along nearby, the dusty path crossing it by means of a small, needlessly ornate (but nonetheless very beautiful) footbridge.

"Where am I?" Regal wondered, only half to the boy beside him.

"You're our prisoner," the boy dodged the question, his smile fading. "Don't try anything funny."

"I like to think that I'm smart enough not to start trouble when I don't understand the situation," Regal retorted with a slight sigh. Histrionic teenagers… The last time he'd had to actually interact with one, _he'd_ been the same age. And to be one's so-called 'prisoner' was just degrading…

Not that he had much pride to lose, these days, he reminded himself. Old habits were just hard to kick. He couldn't allow himself to wonder what this boy had done to merit the title of 'criminal' from his _close friends_ (for that was what he took the Chosen's slang phrase 'bud' to mean), because he was in the same boat. He actually felt a bit of pity for the boy. He really didn't wish this kind of guilt on anyone. Unless the boy was unrepentant for whatever crime he'd committed…

"Where did your companions go?" he asked, to break his mind from this useless circular logic.

"They're talking with the Vice-Chief," the boy jerked his head towards the nearby house. "I'm in charge of keeping watch on and over you." Regal eyed the skinny boy with some disbelief. They'd trusted _him_ to keep _Regal_ under control?

"Forgive me for saying it, but…"

"You could snap me in half with one hand? Yeah, we know," the boy blew a sigh and kicked back into a lounging position. "But Raine and Sheena need to talk with the Vice-Chief because they're the ones in charge, Colette couldn't keep a week-old puppy in line, Genis is the size of your _foot, _and it wouldn't be smart to leave the ones you're going after alone with you." A wistful grin spread across his face. "But I don't mind—it's nice to pretend to be useful."

"…My name is Regal," Regal eventually offered.

"I'm Lloyd Nix," the boy replied cheerfully. "So, what did you _do_, anyway?" He gestured to the manacles. Regal looked away.

"Something unforgivable."

"That bad?" Lloyd blinked. "You know, if you feel guilty about something like this, you usually didn't mean it."

"And why did your friend refer to you as a 'convict'?" Regal steered the conversation away from himself.

"Because he's an idiot," Lloyd scowled and raised his voice, his eyes fixing on something over Regal's shoulder. The man turned to see the white-haired elf boy from before hiking towards them with a grim expression. Behind him was the Chosen, looking equally (uncharacteristically) grave, and the blonde girl Colette, with a wide smile. Behind all of them was that girl, Presea. The little one stopped as the others cross the footbridge, remaining in place and watching them all from a distance, as if unwilling to come any closer to Regal.

"You're only a convict if they find you guilty of a crime in court," the brunet continued, not even pretending to address Regal anymore. "_I _was _lynched_."

"And you were never caught before we met?" the white-haired boy demanded skeptically.

"With that kind of skill, you could have hired yourself out and made tons of money," the Chosen whistled, apparently impressed. For some reason, Lloyd flushed and dropped his eyes to his fingers, which he was twiddling in his lap.

"Well, no… But it only counts as a conviction if they get your name, gender, crime, and age right," he muttered. "No one can prove that was really me, so I can pretend it wasn't."

"Ah, but you just admitted—wait, _gender_?!" the smaller boy choked. The Chosen's eyebrows all but shot right off his face.

"What do you mean?" Colette's head tipped to the side, a small frown creasing her forehead.

"I mean that aside from that one thing—which didn't count!—I mostly just did petty theft and stuff," Lloyd's voice rose, as if shouting would somehow drown out their mental speculation. "Oh, and I've killed a few Desians, so I guess that's murder. But the point is: I'm a _criminal_, not a convict."

"Oh, good," the Chosen drawled. "I was worried there for a minute, bud. Speaking of convicts, I notice our guest is awake."

"Hello, Chosen," Regal inclined his head politely.

"Hi!" the girl, Colette, chirped, for some reason. "It's very nice to meet you properly. My name is Colette. What's yours?"

"He said it's Regal," Lloyd answered before Regal himself could. "You know Zelos, and this is my friend Genis. His sister Raine and her… good friend, Sheena, are… somewhere else right now. Where are they, anyway? And how'd the meeting go?"

"Great!" Genis threw himself down beside the skinny teenager. "Mizuho has agreed to help us find a way to help both Sylvarant and Tethe'alla if we help them move to Sylvarant later."

"Sheena really did it!" A wild grin spread across Lloyd's face. "And I didn't even have to…!" He paused to cough, before continuing. "I didn't even have to teach her how to beg!"

"The lovely professor and I helped, too, y'know," Zelos interjected with an exaggerated pout. He seated himself as well, though lower on the slope so that he was facing the younger boys—and, more specifically, Regal. "The Ultra-Gorgeous Cool Beauty wasn't sure if she had the right to decide whether or not they can stay, so all you guys have agreed to do is support them in it. I'm staying neutral—as long as Tethe'alla is safe, I don't care what anyone else does."

"We've got plenty of space back home," Lloyd shrugged.

"And you've seen every inch of it," Genis teased.

"All the populated inches," Lloyd's grin became impish. "You can't con money off trees. …But, really, what happened to the other girls?"

"They wanted 'a moment alone'," Genis pulled a disgusted face. Regal watched with interest as Lloyd's face flared spectacularly, Zelos sprouted a lecherous expression, and Colette's face fell slack in incomprehension. The man hummed to himself thoughtfully. Well. That was… Well. He wasn't close-minded to that sort of thing, in general, but… These _were_ his enemies… Weren't they? It was getting a bit hard to stay detached, now that he was watching them bicker and gossip just like anyone else in Tethe'alla.

He was supposed to have killed the Chosen for plotting against the crown. But he'd said that his only desire was to keep Tethe'alla safe. He was supposed to kidnap the girl named Colette. But she was beaming like a second sun and congratulating everyone in sight in response to Genis's whisper in her ear after she'd asked why Raine and Sheena had wanted a moment alone. And this criminal-boy Lloyd was shuffling his feet and ducking his head embarrassedly, and Zelos was scooting over to sling an arm around him, and Genis was shaking his head faux-disapprovingly, and Presea was watching them all with a blank stare from down on the footbridge.

They were _people_.

"Hey, Lloyd!" the call came from the rather buxom young lady Regal had noticed in the Forest, who had just emerged from behind the hut. She waved an arm over her head and grinned (actions that were reciprocated by the boy beside him), starting up the hill at a swift trot.

…Which quickly turned into a backwards roll as her foot slipped on a tussock of grass and sent her flipping back down the hill. She fetched up against the legs of her more sedate companion—the one with the staff. The pale-haired young woman stooped and helped her to her feet once more. They shared a quick smile and continued more slowly up the hill together. Raine and Sheena, Regal thought, though he wasn't sure which was which.

"Hey, Sheena, Raine," Lloyd greeted the girls. Colette echoed him, while Genis fell over, clutching his sides and snickering uncontrollably.

"Shut it, half-pint," the brunette glared at him, flushing.

"Have you had any trouble?" the pale-haired one asked, casting a narrow look at Regal.

"Nah," Lloyd shook his head. "But I have to ask… now what?"

"I guess we lay low for a little while," Zelos suggested. "The Papal Knights will never find us here."

"May I have the privilege of knowing where 'here' is?" Regal interjected quietly. The group turned to him as one, their expressions ranging from apologetic to bewildered to outright hostility.

"I guess there's no point hiding it now…" the purple-clad girl sighed. "This is the hidden village of Mizuho, my hometown."

"I see," Regal chewed this over thoughtfully. That explained the clothes. Mizuho was probably the only place he'd never been in Tethe'alla… He didn't even know where it was. (Still didn't, since he'd been unconscious when they'd brought him here, but he at least now knew the general location.)

"I think we should hurry on to Altessa's house," Genis asserted, hands akimbo, summoning his most fierce expression. Lloyd clapped a hand over his mouth to muffle his snickers. The half-elf was about as threatening a presence as a week-old kitten. Though, admittedly, few kittens could summon fireballs at will. "We need to help Presea as soon as possible. Before she gets any worse…"

"Yeah, I agree," Lloyd cast a look at the little girl still standing watch by the footbridge. "I feel bad for making her wait this long after I promised her I'd get it off for her."

That was when it clicked in Regal's head. They were talking about that girl's Exsphere… the foul gem on her neck. They were trying to find a cure for her.

"We can't go out again so soon," the tallest woman cautioned the boys. "The Papal Knights will still be looking for us."

"We can't fight the whole order by ourselves," Zelos agreed glumly. "I'm sure our little rosebud would understand."

"Would you understand if someone could stop your suffering but was too scared for themselves to try?!" Genis's teeth gnashed together. "Colette lost two and a half weeks! How much time do you think Presea's lost?"

"Yeah," Lloyd nodded, his face set. "I can't punish her for just being friends with us." Unbeknownst to the others, behind his determined face, Lloyd's mind was spinning with plans. If the others made him stay, he could sneak out at night and carry Presea over the treetops. She already knew about his wings, so it was no biggie. Surely Altessa's house would be built in some kind of clearing that would be visible from the air… right? He could talk to the dwarf, get a cure for Presea, and be back before dawn, and no one would have to know how he'd done it.

It didn't matter if they became suspicious. Presea's life was more important. He may not have been able to save Marble or Chocolat from this fate, but he was damned if he wasn't going to try keeping others from it.

Little did _he_ know, but the brunet thief was not alone in these thoughts.

Regal cleared his throat politely, drawing the attention of the bickering group. He spoke politely. "If I may… I don't know what difference it would make, but I would be willing to fight alongside you all, if you will allow me."

"You would?" Lloyd blinked, surprised.

"Why should we trust you not to betray us?" Genis demanded, still trying to look fierce.

"He has business with Presea, right? Then he's not going to try anything until he gets a chance to speak with her, you know?" Zelos, to the convict's surprise, spoke up in Regal's defense.

"Actually, that's not a bad idea," the oldest woman hummed thoughtfully, cradling her chin in one hand and her elbow in the other.

"Raine!" Genis whirled on her disbelievingly.

"I dunno about this, but I won't make a fuss," the younger brunette, who must have been Sheena, Regal realized, folded her arms and scowled a little. "I also started off as your enemy."

"I think it's a great idea," Colette nodded enthusiastically. Genis sighed, but made no more protest. He was outvoted.

"Well, welcome to the team, then, Regal," Lloyd beamed at him.

"I swear upon my good name, and these shackles that bind me, I shall not betray you," the man said solemnly.

"If you do anything the slightest bit suspicious, I'll burn you to a crisp, got it?" the little mage told him threateningly. His attempt at intimidation was not helped by the fact that he practically had to bend over backwards to look Regal in the face. The man hid a smile and nodded seriously.

"Well, now that that's decided, I want to go catch up with Orochi and Tiga," Sheena half-turned away. "We can stay at my house tonight, okay? It's that one there," she pointed to a hut next to the Vice-Chief's one that was slightly smaller. "Just come on in when you're tired and I'll set out some pallets for you. See you guys later!" The Mizuhoan hurried away, evidently eager to speak with her friends once more.

"She leaves her house unlocked?" Lloyd scoffed. "How careless. Maybe I should burgle her just to teach her a lesson…"

"Locked doors wouldn't do much good in a village of _ninjas_, Lloyd," Genis rolled his eyes. "I wouldn't steal from any of them, if I were you. Who knows what they'd do… And you'd never see it coming, either." Lloyd paled, his smaller friend smirking. The younger boy laughed and headed off after Sheena down the hill. Regal watched him make his way over to the motionless figure on the footbridge and begin to coax her away, deeper into the village.

"Come on, bud, we should get in some more practice now that we have the chance," Zelos tugged on Lloyd's arm.

"Practice?" Raine's eyebrows arched in the middle.

"Zelos is teaching me how to fight so I won't be so useless anymore," Lloyd shuffled and ducked his head in embarrassment, though his statement was as matter-of-fact as everything he said seemed to be.

"You aren't useless!" Colette protested.

"But learning to defend yourself is a good idea nevertheless," Raine nodded her approval. "It's going to be some time before we can get you back to Sylvarant, and it wouldn't do for you to get hurt." _Not to mention that as things stand, you're dead weight and you're putting us all in danger protecting you. _Lloyd winced at the implied statement, however true.

"Trust me, hunnies," Zelos rolled his eyes dryly. "Improvement is a slow process with Lloydie-boy here. It's going to take _quite_ some time before he gets the hang of this." For some reason, that statement seemed to perk both young men up a bit. They left together in the opposite direction from their companions, heading towards the fringe of trees on the village's outskirts.

Regal was left with Colette and Raine, both of whom were looking somewhat at a loss.

"Would you like to take a walk around town?" Raine eventually offered the man. Regal nodded.

"I would. This village is very different from the rest of Tethe'alla in terms of culture and architecture. I find it intriguing."

"Yes, it's unlike anything we have in Sylvarant as well," Raine's eyes lit up. "Their isolation explains their unique culture, but when the original Mizuhoans split from the rest of the world, one would think they would have taken their previous methods of house-building as well, but these houses in the center of the village must date all the way back to its founding!"

"Perhaps it is the rest of Tethe'alla that has strayed from its roots," Regal mused. The adults began to slowly descend the hill, now avidly discussing architectural differences between worlds, regions, and time periods.

Colette blinked a few times at the empty hill around her. She spun on the spot once or twice, looking quite lost. After a moment, she sat where she stood and hugged her knees to her chest, reveling in the light breeze that tousled her hair. She looked up at the puffy white clouds in the sky above and smiled as she shivered.

Things had a way of working themselves out, she had noticed. Even if it took a little while—eighteen days, for example—nothing ever stayed hopeless for long. She had hope. And she knew deep down in her bones that together, they would find a way to work out everything else. How could they not, as wonderful as these people she was blessed to call friends were?

Colette lay back and let the grass tickle her neck. Yes, she had hope. And she would hold that hope in her heart and enjoy this moment while it lasted.

Because she knew that things rarely stayed peaceful for long, either.


	28. Secretive

**Kitty: I usually don't reply to anon reviews, but this time I can make an exception to assuage some fears I see going on here. Anon ( ): I promise, no good ending will be sacrificed as a lead-in! This fic will be able to stand on its own, whether you decided to read the sequel or not, so the ending will be solid with no loose threads, just like they did it in the game. And if the sequel sucks, you won't have to read it just to find out how it all ends or anything. Did you play Dawn of the New World/Knight of Ratatosk? It will be just like this fic: following canon for the most part, with a few twists and added subplots. And, of course, animals! ~_^**

**Genis: Don't spoil it!**

**Kitty: I won't, I won't. I just wanted to reassure you, this fic CAN stand alone. No weak end. No need to read the sequel if you hated DotNW/KoR. That is all. Oh, except to say that I do not own Tales of Symphonia or any of the characters or plot in it. **

**Zelos: And that really IS all. Enjoy!**

**Chapter Twenty-Eight**

**Secretive**

"_I see you—'cause you won't get out of my way._

_I hear you—'cause you won't quit screaming my name._

_I feel you—'cause you won't stop touching my skin._

_I need you; they're coming to take you away."_

—_Breaking Benjamin, 'Away'_

"It's beautiful, isn't it?"

"Huh?" Genis turned to Lloyd with some surprise. The mage was met with the most roguish grin the teen could muster. He was sure he looked somewhat deranged, what with the tangled mane he hadn't yet gotten around to taming hanging over half of his face as it was. Ah, well, he was sure the spray coming over the bow of the EC would get some of the surface grime off of him. He'd spring for a proper bath the next time they stopped anywhere near fresh water or, better yet, civilization.

Civilization. He barely remembered what that _was_ anymore. A detour after leaving Mizuho had led the group to Ozette, where they'd been forced to leave Presea. He shuddered to remember that hellhole of a house, complete with creepy stalker and moldering corpse. In the end, though, that detour had been in their favor, since it turned out that Altessa had apparently moved out of the Forest of Death. It had taken two more days to find the dwarf's new house, only for him to refuse to even listen to them. His doll Tabatha, on the other hand, had advised them to find inhibitor ore for Presea's Keycrest in the Toize Valley Mine while she attempted to reason with her master.

Which was how they now found themselves three days into a four-day-long sea journey to the next continent over. Pretty much everyone was sick and tired of each other by now, what with Raine's constant hysterical seasickness, Zelos's pleas to just stop at Altamira for a few minutes, Genis's and (inexplicably) Regal's utter depression at leaving Presea behind, and Colette crashing about like a pinball every time the EC hit even a slight bump.

Lloyd, feeling far and away the most mature person within a ten-mile radius, had attempted to escape the insanity of belowdecks (really, the cargo hold) by stepping out for some fresh air. Which was how Genis, following the same train of thought, found the teenaged not-convict lounging atop the railing not long after.

"It's beautiful," Lloyd repeated, gesturing out at the stretch of heaving water in all directions. Lloyd liked boats, he had decided. The wind and sense of speed and power reminded him of flying. And there was nothing cleaner than the scent of the ocean breeze. He could practically feel himself getting drunk off the stuff. Still, he made sure to keep his legs on the right side of the rail. This wasn't a place he could doggie-paddle his way to shore from. "No matter where you go, in either world, all water, everywhere, is the same. If I shut my eyes, it's like being back home…"

"Yeah…" Genis sighed. "I really miss Sylvarant…" Lloyd winced. Clearly this had not been the right topic to attempt to lift Genis's depression with. One man's comfort _was_ another man's distress, however loosely you were defining the term 'man'. The little half-elf moved to the rail beside his older friend, looking wistfully out over the waves.

"Hey, come on," Lloyd coaxed. "Zelos says we'll be making land late today. We're almost there! Presea will be cured in no time."

"We still have a three-day hike to the Mine," Genis contradicted, scowling at the water. "Then we have to _find_ the stuff, and then go all the way back! And what if you and Zelos can't copy it well enough? What if it doesn't work this time? It almost didn't for Colette…"

"Hey, hey, hey, don't start with the 'what ifs'!" Lloyd admonished, rapping the boy lightly on the head with a knuckle. "A little over a week left, then she'll be good as new."

"Yeah, I guess. It seems so long," Genis sighed, rubbing the top of his head absently. He wondered if Svafnir would have growled to prevent Lloyd from hitting him the way the wolf had done with Raine if he had been alive. "I don't want to take away any more of her time. You never know how much you've got left…" His face creased. "Is… is it stupid that I still miss him this much…?"

"Of course not," Lloyd didn't have to ask what the boy was talking about. He shifted uncomfortably. "He was your friend; it's only natural. But remember what Colette said? If you're unhappy, he is, too."

"I know," Genis sniffed, composing himself. "…You're a lot like him, you know. I mean, not just the way you talk, but the way you act and how you feel."

"Yeah…" Lloyd shifted again, wincing. Genis immediately backpedaled.

"I'm sorry! You must be really sad, too—I didn't mean to bring it up…"

"It's not that," Lloyd shook his head, offering a small smile. Not too wide, or he'd seem like an unfeeling jerk, considering they'd just been talking about his supposedly dead 'best friend', but enough to reassure the half-elf. "I slept on my arm funny… now it's all stiff. Don't worry about it. You're starting to sound like Colette."

"Am not," Genis scowled. Lloyd laughed, and the mage joined in weakly after a moment. It really was amazing, the youngest Sage thought almost ruefully, how easily Lloyd was able to cheer him up just by talking.

It was actually pretty irritating.

"Yo, Lloyd," a new voice interrupted the moment. Lloyd turned, feeling his blood turn to ice with apprehension. Sure enough, there stood Zelos. The man strode across the deck towards the secret angel, sparing Genis a single glance. Strangely, the half-elf seemed to catch the meaning of this look and, even stranger, decided to go along with it. He murmured something about Colette and abandoned Lloyd to the metaphorical wolf and literal angry Chosen. Lloyd swallowed and tried to remember how his muscles had worked when they hadn't all turned to water.

"We need to talk," Zelos understated, hopping up onto the rail beside him. He got right to the point. "Why have you been avoiding me?"

"I don't know what you mean," Lloyd avoided his gaze. Zelos wasn't having any of that. Cool fingers on the back of his neck had Lloyd jerking his head up to meet the noble's cornflower blue gaze. His eyes were longer and narrower than Lloyd's… almost catlike. Did all Tethe'allans have eyes like that? He tried to picture Sheena's, but found his mind quite incapable of processing anything at the moment.

"Lloyd. Don't lie to me. You've been avoiding me since Gaoracchia Forest. Why?" Lloyd watched Zelos's lips framing the words, only inches away from him. He heard the question as a distant buzzing. It took a few seconds for him to realize he was supposed to answer. His mind scrambled for a response.

"It's… nothing, okay?" Lloyd's gaze dropped, coming to rest on the Expshere nestled at the juncture between the sweeps of his collarbone. His mouth was dry.

"I just said, _don't_," Zelos's sharp tone brought Lloyd back to himself a bit.

"Well I _don't_ know what to tell you, then," the brunet shot back. "Just… trust me, okay? I promise—I'm not mad, and it's nothing serious. I won't do it again. Okay? Trust me," he repeated. If there was one person, one person in _both_ worlds, whose trust he'd never doubted, it was Zelos. Everyone else had either betrayed him, or didn't trust him themselves. There wasn't a single person Lloyd had complete, unshakable faith in… besides Zelos.

Unbeknownst to Lloyd, the same thoughts were running through Zelos's head, but tinged with defeat.

"…Fine," the nobleman sighed. Lloyd's heart leaped. Zelos trusted him, too. "But don't make a habit of it, got it?"

"Promise," Lloyd repeated, nodding. This would be hard, not avoiding Zelos. It would strain his self-control (and mental masochism) to the limits. But he'd do it. Zelos couldn't be suspicious of him. Even beyond inevitable utter rejection, Lloyd feared losing the trust of the only person who'd stood by him throughout everything.

That might just kill him.

"_He called you a murderer…"_

Genis's words echoed faintly around the earthen cavern. Lloyd doubted that anyone besides himself and Colette heard the echo, given their angelic senses, but it was there. Regardless of the external echo, it echoed internally as well, inside each member of the self-dubbed (Lloyd-dubbed) Restoration Group present. Regal faced them all with his head held high and his chin lifted in an act that could have been challenge, defiance, stubbornness, contempt, pride, or any combination of the five. Maybe all of them. The man looked his name, despite the filthy clothes and haggard face.

The three-day hike to the Toize Valley Mine had only cemented the intense intolerability that had begun on the EC among the group members. This combined with the fact that the autumnal storms had made themselves _very_ well known now that the season was in its home stretch had made for a miserable trip. This whole thing was then capped off by a search through a dank, dim, labyrinthine mine for a single wooden box of a certain type of metal. (Though causing things to explode with the Sorcerer's Ring was somewhat therapeutic, according to Genis, who, as the resident Sorcerer, had been delegated the task of controlling the artifact.)

This capping-off was itself capped off as the group gratefully made for the Mine's exit, ore in hand, only to be confronted by a singularly slimy-looking individual with a hideous topknot. Zelos had identified him as Vharley, the Exsphere broker, whereupon Regal had indignantly added that the terms he'd agreed to in exchange for working for the Pope had included the arrest of this Vharley. Vharley had found that highly amusing, boldly declaring that the Pope would never keep a promise to a murderer. Regal, in a fury, had begun to advance with the intent of violence (startling in the usually placid man), but the cowardly broker had fled.

All of this led up to Genis's soft, almost fearful observation, which echoed softly externally but loudly internally, and caused Regal to lift his chin in some indiscernible emotion.

"I," he said evenly, "am a prisoner serving time for the crime of murder. I won't blame you if you look down on me." It said much for the solemnity of the moment that even Lloyd's loud, derisive snort failed to lighten it completely. After a prolonged silence, during which it became clear that not a one of them could think of anything to say, the brunet thief spoke up, rolling his eyes.

"Oh, come on! Every single one of us has killed someone. And it's not like you're a raging psychopath. If you just explained what happened, I'm sure it…"

"Explaining would be an excuse. I committed a crime. That's all that needs to be said," Regal cut him off with finality. Lloyd's (metaphorical) hackles shot up, instantly on the defensive. Okay, so he'd 'explained' a few of his crimes (none in any real detail, he didn't think), but that didn't mean he was making excuses! How dare this guy preach to him? And Lloyd had thought they were getting along fairly well, too, despite the non-camaraderie of criminality.

"Excuses are different from reasons," Lloyd growled, restraining his anger. "When someone makes an excuse, they expect to be let off. When someone gives a reason, they expect to be _understood_, not excused."

"At least Lloyd knows pretending a crime didn't happen doesn't make that true," Sheena muttered mulishly, her thoughts evidently following Lloyd's. Genis, too, jumped in, a bit more bluntly than either of his friends.

"Just because Lloyd's told stories about what he's done doesn't make you any better than him!" the mage asserted loudly. "If all you do is act like no one understands you, no one ever will!"

Regal blinked, as if taken aback. Comprehension dawned after Genis's short speech. "I apologize. I meant no insult to you, Lloyd. I did not think before I spoke."

"Yeah, it's okay…" Lloyd calmed down, feeling a little foolish that he'd been so quick to think the worst. But more than that, his heart warmed a bit that his friends had come to his defense. Even Sheena had spoken up. A rift had grown between them since her ultimatum—which Lloyd still resented with a passion, and planned to delay as long as possible—but he supposed it was foolish to have thought that meant she didn't care about him anymore. It was… a very comforting feeling, this support. There really was nothing in the world like this feeling of closeness—and he really wasn't sure if that was the human or the wolf in him.

Lloyd blinked. Feeling of closeness…

"If you don't want to tell, I think I get it now," he spoke slowly. "We're strangers, right? We've only known each other a little over two weeks. And I'd guess it's pretty personal, huh? I get it."

Regal blinked in surprise again, joined this time by Sheena, Zelos, Colette, Genis, and Raine.

"…Be that as it may, Lloyd," Raine began cautiously, "murder is not a thing to be taken lightly. And there are no Desians in this world…"

"But he hasn't killed any of us—he's never even raised his voice," Genis argued with his sister. "I agree with Lloyd… And I'm sorry for what I said, Regal. I did not think before I spoke, either."

"I believe that Regal is our friend," Colette clasped her hands and smiled. "I'm sure he had a good reason for whatever he did. He wouldn't hurt us."

"Even if he _would_," Zelos, to everyone's surprise, sided with the younger ones, "it's not like we couldn't fight him off. I say give 'im a chance."

"Me, too," Sheena nodded. "He's wearing those cuffs as a sign of guilt, isn't he? A real murderer wouldn't do that. Sorry, Regal, for yelling."

"…I will not apologize for my suspicion," Raine eventually sighed, giving in under the weight of her friends' pressure. "I would do the same to anyone in defense of those I care about. But I suppose the odds of you meaning us harm are extraordinarily long at this point in time… I will give you the benefit of the doubt."

"…I thank you all," Regal inclined his head slightly, his face still uncharacteristically slack with bewilderment. "I swore I would not betray you, and I do it again now. Perhaps someday I will have the opportunity to tell the story…"

"Take your time," Lloyd smiled widely. Zelos chuckled to himself. The kid was probably basking in his rare moment of intuition. Unbeknownst to the red-haired swordsman… he was absolutely right.

"In the meantime," Genis sidled up to Lloyd and eyed him slyly, "why don't _you_ tell us a story, Lloyd? Like that time you technically weren't convicted, for example…?"

"I'd like to hear that one," Sheena snickered, having been told the story. Lloyd colored bright pink.

"Over my dead body! You heartless vultures… don't _I_ get any emotional privacy?!"

"Aw, c'mon, bud! I'm good with secrets," Zelos draped himself over the boy's shoulders, winking conspiratorially. Lloyd's flush darkened, coupled with a wince. Zelos noticed both, but chose to ignore the former in favor of the latter. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing, nothing," Lloyd shook his head, shaking off the Chosen's arm as well. Ahead, the others were already moving out of the mine towards the much-needed fresh air. Lloyd hurried after them, Zelos keeping step, his face concerned. Lloyd tried again. "Really, it's just all this rain. It's making me stiff!"

"How old _are_ you, again?" the nobleman laughed. Lloyd's stomach clenched, an odd mix of dread and longing churning in his gut. Luckily, the semi-magical swordsman left it at that, moving ahead to catch up with the rest. Lloyd hung back, recovering from the double close call with both his a-little-more-than-crush and not-quite-white-lie.

His shoulder had been stiff since he'd first met Presea. At that time, he'd assumed it to be a side-effect of his returned tactile sense, and of his recently-healed wing. After that, he'd been too busy with Colette and Zelos and magic and Presea to think much about it. Looking back, he'd just been assuming he'd strained his arm doing this or slept strangely a few times, or a million other unrelated inconsequentialities. It was just a few days ago that he'd really looked at his shoulder and realized.

He appeared to be sprouting some kind of crystal growth on his skin.

It was bluish-tinted white, and spread over his skin like some kind of armor—like a turtle's shell, only much, much harder. Attempts to pry it off had been met with broken nails and unbearable pain… pain that had had him stuffing his fist in his mouth to smother any noises that might have woken his sleeping companions.

Lloyd was worried. Scratch that. He was terrified. It was getting bigger every day, and he couldn't keep hiding it for long. What if it spread all the way around and he couldn't lift his arm anymore? Would he turn into a perfect, crystal statue if he let it cover him completely? More terrifyingly… would that even kill him, or just trap him alive?

He didn't know. He couldn't ask. Colette wouldn't know anything, and neither would Sheena. Both would only worry needlessly. Raine or Genis might, but what if this had something to do with the Navitus Crystal? They still had no idea he even had a second Exsphere, and if they found out, they'd be sure to ask what it did. Not to mention that examining his shoulder would likely result in removing his shirt, thus revealing his _other_ secret. He didn't know Regal well enough, and who knew if the man would even know anything, much less keep the problem secret?

The only choice left was Zelos. But… no. He couldn't show that kind of weakness, not when Zelos was working so hard to teach him magic and basic hand-to-hand fighting, not when he was working so hard to make him strong. He couldn't show the man he might have had a bit more than a crush on something so… _ugly_. So monstrous and terrible and diseased. It was already a wonder the swordsman had put up with stupid, lying, lower-class, _male_ Lloyd for as long as he had. One look at this would run the man right off, and Lloyd couldn't blame him at all for it. This was, after all, just more confirmation that he was the freak he'd always known himself to be—even subconsciously while all his friends denied it so vehemently. They just didn't know.

And if he had it his way, they never would.

Lloyd shouted out as a sword clashed against his crystallized shoulder, causing a black lily of pain to flower before his eyes. He lashed out with his fist while the man was off-balance—he hadn't expected his sword to _rebound_ off his young foe's _flesh_—and caught the Papal Knight in the face, below his helm. The Knight staggered. Lloyd sent a sneaky look at his fighting companions to make sure the coast was clear before muttering a quick, "Angel Feathers!"

The silver-blue feathers sliced into the Knight's unarmored joints just as Lloyd had directed them, cutting as deeply as any of Sheena's throwing knives would have. A follow-up flying side to the throat sent the man crashing to the ground, out for the count.

Lloyd looked around. His friends were finishing off their foes as well. Just their luck. No sooner had they arrived to Ozette than they had been ambushed by a troop of Papal Knights in wait. Clearly their 'little' detour had provided ample time for the Pope to not only track them down, but discover Presea, calculate the odds, and lay a trap. It was a good plan, too, merely unfortunate in the fact that the return trip had been twice as bad as the first one, and the entirety of the Restoration Group was good and _pissed off_. Releasing frustration on the unwitting Knights was just what the doctor ordered.

"Everyone okay?" Lloyd called out. One by one, confirmation was called out. The group drifted back together, having scattered to combat various enemies across the town square. Lloyd looked them over. Minor bruises and cuts, most of them. Nothing even worth wasting a First Aid on, though a drop or two of apple gel probably wouldn't go amiss.

"Are _you_ okay, Lloyd?" Raine squinted. "I thought I saw that Knight wound you in the shoulder."

"Nah, he must've gotten me with the flat," Lloyd shook his head, grinning ebulliently and ignoring the twinge in his chest. Since when had lying made him feel guilty, anyway? It just wasn't right. He was getting soft. "No blood, see? Doesn't even hurt."

"If you say so," the healer seemed skeptical.

"Likelihood of assessment: thirty-eight percent," Presea said. "Concealment of damage likely."

"In any case, we won," Lloyd hurried to change the subject, glaring at the little girl. Way to keep his secret, Presea. "That was sneaky of them, jumping out like that. It's a good thing we've been practicing on those monsters, or we might have been in trouble, huh?"

"It's my fault again. I'm so sorry, everyone," Colette, shamefaced, apologized with a hitch in her voice.

"Don't be silly. They're after my life, too," Zelos rolled his eyes, waving a dismissive hand. "The Professor and Genis are wanted because they're half-elves. Sheena is from Mizuho, now considered a village of traitors. And Regal is considered a traitor as well."

"…Thanks," Colette smiled weakly. Lloyd felt something akin to pride roll through him, warm and sticky. There hadn't been any inflection whatsoever on the word 'half-elves'. And he'd been comforting Colette without hitting on her, too! Zelos had come so far from that guy he'd bitten in Sybak…

The warm, sticky feeling grew hot and gooey, like boiling molasses being poured over him. It was actually quite painful. _Hmm. Not pride, then… _Lloyd swayed a little, one hand going to his shoulder.

"Stop thinking everything's your fault," Genis all but ordered. His voice was muffled. _The molasses,_ Lloyd thought. _Filling my ears._

"I'm sorry," Colette hung her head, still smiling a little. Lloyd swayed more noticeably, his inner ear going haywire at the mere thought of moving his head like that. Or moving at all, really.

"You don't have to apologize for it…!" Genis began in exasperation. The sharp tone hit Lloyd like a blow in the chest, and this time he couldn't manage to keep his feet. The boy slid shakily to his knees, his other hand coming up to clutch his shoulder just for something to hold on to. He felt like he was going to collapse to pieces any second. His skin was on fire. He vaguely hoping his wings weren't twitching like his legs and arms were, or the jacket might not be enough to hide them.

"Bud?!" Zelos was the first by his side, taking hold of his upper arms and shaking him a little. His voice was frantic. "Bud, what's wrong?! Talk to me, Lloyd!"

"Lloyd!" Colette dropped to her knees on his other side, her hands hovering just short of touching him.

Lloyd groaned. The shaking was painful. He could feel sweat sliding down his forehead. "…Nngh… Shoulder…"

"It must be that wound," Raine sounded disapproving. "This is what happens when you try to be a hero, Lloyd. Let me see it, Zelos."

"N-No…!" Lloyd mustered the last of his strength, twisting out of the nobleman's grip and scooting away. He fell back on his elbows, his muscles feeling as limp as cooked noodles. "Don't look…! Stay… away…"

"Bud…?" Zelos looked stricken. Something dawned on him. _The wings_. "Don't worry, Professor. I'll take care of it."

"But why…?" Raine never finished. Little blank-eyed Presea suddenly stepped up in front of the shaking boy.

"…Move… please leave this… to me…" she requested quietly. Raine backed off a little, but Colette and Zelos remained firmly planted. "Move…!" the girl repeated, almost menacingly. Lloyd tried desperately to sit up. Something was wrong. Presea was acting strangely. He had to get up and help, before something happened…

The lumberjack hefted her axe over her shoulder, sweeping it in a broad stroke at Zelos, who sprang backwards to avoid it. The girl spun, pulling back against her own momentum so that when the flat of the axehead hit Colette in the back of the head, it knocked her out instead of shattering her skull completely. The Chosen of Mana slumped forward onto Lloyd's stomach, driving what little breath he had from him.

"Presea, what the…?!" Sheena shouted.

"Good work, Presea," a sniggering voice cut the ninja off. Around the corner of the nearest house stepped the turtle-like man they had seen the last time they'd been to Ozette. He had a triumphant sneer on his face that didn't go with his weak features.

Any thought of his features, though, was driven away in the next moment. Lloyd, on his back beneath Colette, had the perfect view of the sky to watch as two monstrously huge dragons swooped up out of the surrounding forest and down to hover just a few feet above the town square. The reek of fetid breath, sulfur, and rotting meat rolled over them, borne by the powerful, rhythmic waves of air created by their wingbeats. Lloyd wondered if he was hallucinating, but didn't hold out much hope.

"Damn! Corrine!" Lloyd barely heard Sheena shout over the snapping and flapping of giant wings—like a hundred ships' sails being unfurled all at once. He didn't see the fox or sense its mana at all, but he did see Presea (who had been standing between Lloyd and Colette and the others) suddenly stagger to the side as if under attack. Her swings were wild, and didn't appear to have any effect.

He didn't get to watch long, however, since the turtle-man stepped quickly over and, with a strength that belied his appearance, hoisted Colette off his stomach. He glanced down at the boy disinterestedly, before a spark of recognition lit his watery little eyes.

This was the boy Cruxis had been looking for… the one their spy, Zelos, was supposed to be worming the location of the Angelus and Navitus Projects out of. Well, well, well, that just wouldn't do, would it? And just think of massive amounts of energy that Crystal must have collected over four thousand years… He had to have it.

A click of the fingers had one dragon swinging its tail around for him to catch hold of. The tail curled around and deposited the man and his senseless captive on the dragon's back. A second click had the other dragon reaching down and scooping the semi-conscious boy into its claws. An opportunity like this didn't come along every day. He'd be a fool not to take advantage of it. And who knew? If either proved uncooperative, this might insure the Chosen's good behavior, at the very least.

Lloyd hung in the dragon's claws limply, feeling like a mouse caught by a hawk. The heat this close to the animal was intolerable… he was being roasted alive. The thick smell made breathing difficult, and Lloyd's vision was starting to blur. Dimly, he heard Genis and Sheena (and… was that Zelos…?) calling out for him, frantically. Their voices were lost in a roaring that might have been the wind or might have been the dragon, or might have even been the last of Lloyd's awareness slipping away as he dropped out of consciousness like a brick dropped into a lake.


	29. Probably Dying

**Kitty: Hmm… Can't think of much to say. At least I'm on-time this week. **

**Zelos: At **_**least**_**. –grumble-**

**Genis: Ignore him; he's just mad that he's not in this chapter. Well, except for that flashback thing…**

**Kitty: Sorry if that's confusing, but I couldn't figure out another way to do it… ^^" **

**Zelos: That's because YearoftheKitty owns the imaginative scope of a teaspoon—it's why she **_**doesn't**_** own Tales of Symphonia while NAMCO **_**does**_**.**

**Kitty: My, my, someone really **_**is**_** bitter, huh? Sor-**_**ry**_**… Anyway, voting on the poll is still open, so vote if you haven't already! Enjoy!**

**Chapter Twenty-Nine**

**Probably Dying**

"_All of my life, all of my time—_

_I don't want to come back around tonight._

_And all that I need is serenity;_

_I don't want to feel your new disease."_

—_Breaking Benjamin, 'Natural Life'_

It was warm. Warm, but not very comfortable. He was lying on something hard and uneven, and dried sweat caked his skin. There was something very hot beside him, but his other side was cold. And something wet was on his forehead.

Lloyd grimaced and tried to open his eyes. They peeled back slowly, affording him an excellent view of the night sky spread out above him. The stars were fuzzy, seeming to bleed light in streaks across his vision. There was something dark in the corner of his vision, he could tell. But it was too dark to tell what it was.

"Lloyd!" a joyful voice hissed nearby. Lloyd blinked, clearing the fuzziness, and inched his head to the side. He felt odd, like he had slept for far too long, coupled with the griminess that comes from having been sick not long ago. He saw Colette kneeling next to him, her face lit up by a smile.

"You're awake!" she continued quietly. "How do you feel? Are you still sick? Your fever broke a while ago, but I was worried…"

"Colette," Lloyd's voice was thick. "Where are we? What… happened?"

"You got sick," the Chosen dutifully reported. "Then that man—Rodyle, he said—kidnapped us. You've been asleep for two days."

Oh, right. Lloyd nearly groaned to remember. Well, this was just great. Exactly how many times did Cruxis plan to kidnap him anyway? And then there was that _other_ thing…

"Where are we now?" he pushed himself weakly up, feeling not one but two blankets fall off him. He glanced around.

They appeared to be in some sort of field. A few yards away, some giant stone slabs stood: ruins of some kind of temple. _Raine would be all_ over _that_, he mused dryly. On his other side, the uncomfortably hot one, the two dragons were curled up together. Plumes of smoke drifted lazily from their nostrils, and every now and then one would twitch in its sleep. Further on, he saw a hunched figure that was probably Rodyle, who was either sleeping sitting up, or fiddling with something in his lap. Judging by the lack of light and movement, it was the former.

"I think he called it the Otherworldly Gate," Colette frowned. "It's an island east of Altamira. We stopped there for the night yesterday. Well, not _in_ Altamira, but near it. Lloyd…" her frown deepened. It was such an odd expression on Colette's usually-cheerful face that Lloyd braced himself for whatever terrible news was coming. "…I saw your shoulder."

"You…?" Lloyd blinked, then blanched. She'd seen it. She'd _seen_ it! What else had she seen? Did she know about the wings? "What did you see?! Tell me!"

"I'm sorry!" Colette's chin trembled. "I didn't mean to, but I thought you were sick because of an infection from the wound, so I had to look to help you! I just pulled down your collar to see… But… you're not wounded, just… Lloyd, what _is_ that? Why didn't you tell us?"

"…It's nothing," Lloyd put a defensive hand on his shoulder, feeling the smooth planes of the crystal through his shirt. It was warm to the touch from the dragons' proximity. "I don't know what it is," he amended. "It's been hurting since just before you… woke up. The crystal only started spreading on the way to the Toize Valley Mine." He rubbed around the edges of the growth. At least another half-inch of skin had been covered since he'd been knocked out.

"But what is it?" Colette whispered, her eyes full of fear. Lloyd flinched. Fear. She was scared… he didn't want to scare her. He didn't want to scare anyone.

_But that's what monsters do, isn't it?_

"…I'm not sure," Lloyd sighed eventually, avoiding her eyes. "I don't think it's contagious, though, so you don't have to worry, okay?"

"I'm not worried about that!" Colette's voice rose. Her hair whipped around like strings of golden lightning as she shook her head violently, rejecting his words. "I'm worried about _you_! Lloyd, why didn't you tell Professor Raine so she could heal you?"

"Why didn't you tell anyone when you stopped eating and sleeping?" Lloyd shot back. Colette's eyes filled.

"I-I'm sorry…" she clasped her hands, voice shaking. "I know it's hypocritical of me… But it's not right for you to suffer alone like this! What… what will you do if it spreads even further? You… could die…!" He voice broke.

"I know that," Lloyd whispered, bowing his head. Now he was making her cry. _Again_. "I was going to figure something out on my own…"

"Lloyd…" Colette began. Lloyd cut her off.

"Look, none of this matters right now! We have to escape and get back to the others," Lloyd frowned. "Why didn't he tie us up?"

"You were sick," Colette shrugged. "And this is an island, so you couldn't run. He said I would never leave you here; and he's right."

"You're going to have to," Lloyd told her. The blonde girl opened her mouth to protest. "No! Colette, of the two of us, you're the one Cruxis wants dead. If they get me, they'll just take my Expheres. Even if they kill me afterwards, at least I'm not the Chosen."

"Genis would die," she whispered. "To lose you and Svafnir… And Sheena and Zelos and Presea and me… We'd all be so sad…"

"That _doesn't matter_," Lloyd growled. "Would you rather the worlds stay like this forever?" Colette flinched. "Exactly! Now, hurry up and fly away."

"I could carry…"

"I'd slow you down too much," the boy shook his head with finality. "I swear to the Spirits, Colette, if you don't get going right now I'll toss you off this island myself! If you hurry, you might meet up with the rest tomorrow."

"I…" Colette rose to her feet, her wings materializing in a blaze of soothing pink. White sparkles drifted over Lloyd like snowflakes as the wings fluttered rapidly, bearing the slim girl into the night sky. Her hands were so tightly wound around each other that her skin was white to the wrist. "I'll come back for you, Lloyd! I promise, we'll all save you!"

"Go!" Lloyd hissed. With a final sob, the girl spun and sped off into the night, leaving a glowing trail behind her. Lloyd watched until the last spark of pink faded away entirely, leaving him alone with the dragons and Rodyle. A slight breeze swept across the grass, clearing the musty smell clogging Lloyd's nostrils for a few, sweet moments.

He sighed heavily. Yes, technically he could have escaped too, with his own wings. But Colette hadn't seen them yet, and he wasn't going to show her on his own. But it wasn't just his own stupid pride that had kept him grounded this time. No, this time he had a reason. If Rodyle woke up to find both of his prisoners gone, it was obvious that he would turn right back around to chase them down. But if he still had at least one captive, it was much more likely that he'd continue onwards—if only so that he could drop Lloyd off before pursuing the lost Colette. That was what Lloyd was banking on, anyway.

That, and the fact that he was feeling sick again. Lloyd flopped down on his back, pulling the two blankets (one of which he realized must have been Colette's—stupid philanthropic girl that she was) up around him. His wings shifted uncomfortably, but it was less painful than flipping onto his front and pressing his crystallized shoulder against the ground.

It went without saying that Lloyd didn't get much sleep that night.

"…_So…"_

"…_you've lost the Chosen."_

"_Y-You! Grr… What have you done with them?!"_

"_Rodyle is ignoring our orders and acting on his own, Genis. I know nothing of it."_

"_Internal strife? How pathetic."_

"_Say what you will, Professor. I would hurry after her if I were you—what Rodyle is after is in none of our best interests."_

"'_Them'."_

"…_I beg your pardon…?"_

"_Hurry after 'them'. Or didn't you notice, you bastard? He took _Lloyd, _too."_

"_Sheena…"_

"What_?! Lloyd…? …Of course, that was what… I should have realized… The Crystal and the Angelus Project, too, of course…"_

"_Huh? What are you muttering about?"_

"_Yeah, Kratos, what's wrong? Disappointed Rodyle beat you to the punch this time?"_

"_Sheena, hunny, calm down!"_

"_How can I be _calm_?! Did you _see_ Lloyd before that… that freak got a hold of him? He was sweating and shaking all over… He needs _medicine_! Do you really think that freak is going to help him? By the time we catch up, he might already be like… he might be like… Corinne…"_

"_Ssh, Sheena, it's okay. We'll save him, I promise."_

"_Hey, old man. Where do you think you're going?"_

"…_I am going to find Lloyd. Cruxis planned on using you to eliminate Rodyle in the rescue attempt anyway. …Take this. It will lead you to me once you have acquired your rheiards."_

"_Hey, w-wait…! …He's gone…"_

"_What did he want…?"_

"_No sense worrying about it now, my lovely Professor. We should hurry up and get the rheiards now so that we can save our bud."_

"_You're right. Back to Mizuho, then."_

"_Yeah, let's… wait a minute, look up there! Is that…?"_

"…_Colette…?!"_

"_P-Professor! Genis! Sheena! Hurry, we've g-got to… it's spreading, he's not…!"_

"_Colette! Slow down, tell me what happened. How did you get away?"_

"_What about Lloyd?! Is my bud okay?"_

"_No, he's not… Zelos…"_

"…_he's really, really sick…"_

"…up, filthy worm!"

THUD.

Lloyd was woken by a boot slamming into his ribs, accompanied by the sounds of furious shouting. The young angel curled up, coughing twice and clutching his side. His eyes snapped open, finding himself confronted by the tips of two grass-stained boots. As his gaze traveled upwards, he locked eyes with a livid Rodyle.

The Desian kicked him again. Lloyd grunted in pain, trying to scoot backwards, but finding himself cornered between the half-elf and his dragon's side.

"Where is she?!" Rodyle yelled. "Where is that worthless vessel of a Chosen?!" He wound up as if to kick Lloyd a third time, but the boy evaded it by rocking up onto his knees. He glared at the man through a tangle of hair.

"I don't know."

"You talked her into leaving, didn't you?" the Grand Cardinal hissed what he must have known all along. Lloyd didn't answer. "Damn your eyes, you disgusting low-life!" Lloyd remained silent, which only further incensed Rodyle. "Now I'll have to dispose of you before going back of her, and I'll have lost the element of surprise… Unless…" A gleam entered his eyes. "Boy! Where did you hide the Angelus Project?"

"Hide?" Lloyd blinked in genuine surprise. Rodyle was not pleased. He stomped on the boy's hand vindictively, not even smirking as Lloyd's face creased in pain.

"Don't play dumb with me! Where did you hide the Angelus Project and the Navitus Crystal? If I cannot have the Chosen's Cruxis Crystal, either of yours should suffice," he snarled.

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Lloyd declared. Truthfully, as a matter of fact. Why did Rodyle… why did _Cruxis_ think he'd hidden his Exspheres? For that matter, shouldn't they have been asking where Svafnir was instead of the Navitus Crystal, or how he'd gotten to Tethe'alla? As far as they knew, 'Lloyd' was back in Palmacosta, and 'Svafnir' was still traveling with the Chosen, both in possession of their Exspheres. Or, as far as they were _supposed_ to know.

"Do not play games with me!" Rodyle ground his foot harder on the trapped hand. Lloyd's face twisted. "Where is the Navitus Crystal?"

"With Svafnir," Lloyd gasped. Again, truthfully.

"Do not take me for a fool. Our spies have reported the mutt's death, though we do not yet know how it died, or how you got here. Frankly, I don't care to know, either. Just tell me where your Exspheres are, and I might still let you go with your miserable life," Rodyle snapped.

Lloyd's mind whirled. He hadn't ever considered the possibility of spies. Why hadn't he or Sheena or Zelos or Raine noticed anyone watching them? Surely _one_ of them—maybe even Colette, or Genis, or Presea, or Regal—would have seen or heard something suspicious…

Unless…

Unless it was one of _them_ who was the spy…

No! Lloyd shook his head sharply. His friends wouldn't betray each other like that. He must have been talking about Presea. Presea had been working for him while she'd lost her soul, but as soon as they gave her the Keycrest he and Zelos had fashioned on the way to Ozette, she'd be good as new.

But he said 'spie_s_'…

That didn't matter right now, either! All Lloyd had to think about was how best to keep Rodyle from discovering the Expheres on his wrist and chest. It didn't matter why he wanted them—he was a Desian, and Lloyd made it a life goal to keep the Desians from getting what they wanted.

"Then you'll have to kill me, because I'm _never_ going to tell you," Lloyd spat, literally, at the man. Rodyle's mouth twisted, and Lloyd let out a cry as something snapped beneath the Desian's boot.

"How many fingers will I break, boy, before you do, I wonder?" Rodyle questioned faux-offhandedly. Lloyd gritted out a smirk.

"Do your worst."

_It can't possibly be worse than growing wings_.

It wasn't.

Sunrise the next morning saw Lloyd nursing three broken fingers on his right hand, a black eye, a split lip, a nasty fever, and bluish crystal creeping up the join between shoulder and neck. Thankfully it hadn't covered the entire ball of his shoulder yet, so his arm was still useable, but he shuddered to think about that _stuff_ on his face. Rodyle had given up trying to make him talk (not that there was anything to talk about anyway) only ten minutes into the 'interrogation', opting instead to continue towards their destination so that he could drop the boy off as quickly as possible before going back for Colette. Just as Lloyd had planned. The flight took all of that day, and would have been incredibly boring had Lloyd not drifted in and out of feverish awareness every few hours. At least it kept him mostly unaware of his own discomfort (this close to the dragon carrying him, it was hellishly hot, and the claws around his ribs weren't gentle, not to mention the numbing wind…).

Just around sunset, they arrived. At first, Lloyd was positive he was hallucinating. Fever did that, didn't it? And there was no way they were landing on a floating island several miles above the surface of Tethe'alla. Nuh-uh. No way.

For a hallucination, though, it was awfully _solid_. Double thumping noises resounded (the island dipped a little, too) as the dragons touched down, Lloyd tumbling from careless claws.

_Oof._

It took a bit of struggling for the teen to get his hands beneath him, and then a bit more to flip himself over, as weak as he was. He lay on his side, watching as Rodyle puttered back and forth across the island, muttering to himself. After the turtle-man had done a lap around the entire chunk of land, there was a clicking noise as he fiddled with something in the grass, and a glowing barrier like the one that had trapped Sheena, Zelos, Genis, and Raine in the Fooji Mountains slid up around Lloyd. Rodyle looked it over, nodding once.

"That should do. I'll be back for you later, brat, as soon as I have the Chosen once more. Then we'll have a nice, _long_ talk about those Exspheres of yours," he chuckled nastily. The Desian Grand Cardinal then swung up onto the shoulders of the nearest dragon, and the two reptiles took off in a hurricane of beating wings and backdraft. Lloyd was left alone on the floating island, his breath coming in short gasps.

Well… crap. Lloyd wasn't entirely sure he was going to be alive by the time Rodyle got back. It had taken three days to fly here, and he'd be flying three days back, then three days back _again_… And Lloyd had no food or water. He hadn't eaten in two days already, though the Desian had _graciously_ given him a drink once or twice along the flight. But nearly a whole week without water…

Lloyd licked his cracked lip and prayed that it would rain. The barrier had no roof, so if he just lay like this and opened his mouth…

_Wait a minute_. The barrier had no roof. If he'd been a bit stronger, he might have considered flying out and praying he'd make it to the nearest land before his energy gave out, but in his current state that was impossible. He'd fall like a stone. But it did bring up an interesting question: What was the barrier _for_? Anyone who wanted to reach this 'island' had to _fly_ to get here, so a topless cage was only _slightly_ flawed as a prison. If his friends got here before Rodyle, they could just lift him right out.

…If he was alive by then.

Lloyd groaned and shut his eyes, shivering in the sharp wind, which was reminding him none-too-gently that winter was practically upon them. He wondered if exposure was a pleasanter way to die than dehydration.

His thoughts wandered in this incoherent thread for quite some time. He weaved in and out, like a child trying to keep his balance on a thin rail, tilting first to one side, then to the other. His thoughts ranged all over the connected worlds, creating all sorts of fantastic images. Some were nightmares, causing him to cry out and beat his hands on the nearest wall of the barrier, jolting pain all up his arm from his broken fingers. Others were just dreams, nonsensical and sometimes even pleasant.

By far the best one, though, was the dream where everything was glowing blue for some reason. That part didn't make sense. But then everything was warm, and somebody was hugging him, and he felt warm and safe. Wind was blowing in his face, and his stomach was flipping, but the person just held him tighter.

Lloyd sighed happily. This was a good dream. He let his eyes slide shut, blocking out the soothing blue glow, and went to sleep again.


	30. In Doubt

**Kitty: Hey, everyone, sorry this chapter is so late. I've reached a block in this story—a timeskip, that is, where I'm not sure how to convey the time passing and all they learn along the way… Oh, well. You've all played the game. I give up retelling the same stuff you already know.**

**Zelos: At least I get more fluff with Lloyd. **

**Kitty: Yep, you do. ^^ Anyway, two more announcements: I am sososososo sorry that I haven't answered any of your reviews. I read them, I promise, and thank you heartily for each one! It's been hectic around here, what with midterms coming up and the biggest snowstorm in fifty years. It literally comes up to my hips. Happy holidays to y'all. **

**Genis: YearoftheKitty does not own Tales of Symphonia. As such, feel free to hate her for the false cliffie of last chapter. ^^**

**Kitty: Little jerk… Read, review, and enjoy! And vote if you haven't already! (I'm very surprised by the poll! RatatoskxEmil currently leading, with RichterxEmil in second. I expected it to be the other way around! Good thing I asked! ~_^)**

**Chapter Thirty**

**In Doubt**

"_The heart is something you can't control,_

_We either choose to follow, or be left on our own._

_So we're leaving here on the less-traveled road;_

_As the desperate cries grow louder, I know we're getting close."_

—_Rise Against, 'Voices Off-Camera'_

"It seems you are not quite done with waking up in concerned company yet, Lloyd."

Those were the words that first greeted Lloyd's latest return to consciousness. This time, though, his head wasn't throbbing, and he was able to think fairly clearly. He wasn't sweating or as weak as a newborn puppy anymore, either. The throb in his shoulder had settled to an ache, and the pain in his hand and face was gone entirely.

Even so, his heart had just sunk to the bottom of his leaden stomach. His first thoughts while waking had been recollections of strong arms around him and a feeling of warmth and safety. And, for some fever-addled reason, he had been hoping with all his strength that he had been saved by Zelos…

But no. This voice was deeper, solemner, and altogether _much_ less welcome.

"Why are you _following_ me?" Lloyd groaned, without opening his eyes. He was lying on his stomach this time, on what felt like a bedroll on grass. One or two blankets had been draped loosely over his back. It took Lloyd a full minute to realize the reason for these arrangements: his jacket was gone, freeing his wings to sprawl to either side of him. As a matter of fact, he could feel his right wing settled atop what felt awfully like a person's lap, a tickling feeling running across the skin as if someone were combing his fingers through the feathers…

Lloyd's eyes snapped open. The blankets atop him flipped as he jerked his wing tightly to his side, turning his head to glare at the red-haired man seated a few feet away.

"What the hell…?" he snarled, breathless with shock. Kratos regarded him expressionlessly.

"Your wings are filthy," he stated. "How often do you let them out, much less clean them?"

"That's none of your business," Lloyd snapped, feeling his face burn with mortification. "I don't need you to… to _preen_ me! I can clean myself—I'm not a baby!"

"All evidence to the contrary," Kratos murmured, but let it go. He remained at a distance, merely watching as Lloyd levered himself upright, folding his wings in and clasping one of the blankets shut at his throat so that it settled around his shoulders.

One shoulder in particular…

"Why did you not tell your friends that you were sick?" Kratos asked. Lloyd flinched instinctively, only realizing a moment later that the man's voice was, for once, oddly calm. Deadpan, even. Ever since he'd woken up, actually, he'd been talking to Lloyd like… like…

_Like he talks to everyone else…_

_Like I'm no one special…_

…_Like I'm not his son…_

Lloyd pushed away that last thought furiously. Good. _Good_. He didn't _want_ the traitor to give him any special treatment or affection. He liked it better this way—like there wasn't any stupid emotional stuff between them. Just two people who looked remarkably similar having a civil conversation. Yeah. Much better.

"None of them would know anything about it. It would just worry them unnecessarily," he said flatly.

"How do you know that they know nothing of it?" He sounded only mildly interested.

"It's obviously coming from one or both of my Expheres. Didn't you see the color? And it's a crystal, too… Anyway, none of them know the first thing about Cruxis Crystals, and apparently not even the ones who _made_ it know the first thing about the Navitus Crystal. So what's the point in asking? The next time we go near Sybak or the Elemental Research Laboratory, I'll ask _them_. Or, heck, even that Altessa guy might know something," Lloyd shrugged. "It's spreading slowly. I'm sure I'll be fine for at least another few months."

"Your callous disregard for your own body is truly astounding at times," Kratos eventually sighed. Not concerned. Not angry. Just distantly concerned over a stranger's stupidity. Lloyd felt a kind of fury building up inside him, mixed with bittersweet triumph. So the old man _had_ been lying when he'd professed that 'parental concern' and… and _love_. Lloyd had been right. He didn't care at all. But if he didn't care, then why…?

"Why did you save me?" The question burst out before Lloyd could stop it. He bit his lip harshly a moment later. He covered the desperation behind it with an aggression he didn't feel. "I mean, since Cruxis kidnapped me in the first place and all. I thought you'd be happy getting your precious little jewels back."

"…Lloyd, Rodyle is acting independently of Cruxis. We did not order yours or the Chosen's abduction." Kratos paused and cleared his throat. "Well… we did. But not for the same purposes that Rodyle wanted you both. As it is now, both of your Crystals are useless to us, as well as the Chosen's, I'm willing to wager. You should be safe for a time."

"You didn't answer my question."

"Lloyd…" Kratos pinched the bridge of his nose between his forefinger and thumb, exhaling sharply through his nose. "What do you want from me?"

_The truth,_ Lloyd wanted to snap. But even he wasn't stupid enough to invite the man to begin another argument on his blatant hypocrisy. He didn't say anything. The silence stretched on for a time.

"I encountered your friends outside of the Lightning Temple a few days previously," the Seraph offered. "They were quite distraught."

"Don't even try. They wouldn't ask you to help me—not after what you did. Remember, you betrayed _them_, too," Lloyd shook his head firmly. "But… how were they? Is Presea okay now?" He and Zelos had copied the charm from their Keycrests onto the ore they'd taken on the boat ride back, but they hadn't gotten a chance to give it to her before they were ambushed. "Did Sheena make the pact? Was Colette with them? What about Zelos?"

"Presea looked to be completely cured, though it is difficult to tell from a distance. She is not what one would call loquacious by nature. The Summoner did indeed fulfill her role, but at the cost of one named Corinne," Kratos related. Lloyd froze, going cold all over. Kratos continued heedlessly. "I had not realized you had any other companions. Who was this Corinne? She sounded important to the Summoner."

"He," Lloyd corrected, looking down at his hands with burning eyes. "Corinne was an artificially-made Summon Spirit, made in the Elemental Research Laboratory in Meltokio. A fox. He was Sheena's best friend in the worlds…"

"I see. I am sorry for your loss," the man's voice was bland, though a hint of sympathy was audible now. Lloyd sniffed. Sure, he'd barely spoken to the cheerful little fox-spirit, and half the times they'd met had been in combat, but Sheena was—had been—one of his closest friends. He couldn't imagine what the poor girl was going through right now.

"As for the Chosen, she was not present when I met them. I assume that she escaped without you?"

"I told her to. Rodyle should be going after her by now," Lloyd suddenly realized. He sprang to his feet, stumbling over the hem of the blanket he still clasped around his shoulders. "I have to warn her!"

"You'll do no one good in that condition," Kratos rose, too, raising his voice commandingly. "I healed your fever and dulled the pain for now, but rest assured, it is not gone. Your symptoms could return as early as this afternoon. And nothing in my power can halt the spread of the crystal. Do you see what folly it is to leave this unattended? The next time you pass by Sybak or the Research Lab might be months from now. How do you intend to keep the others from noticing?"

"I…" Lloyd paused. He hadn't thought about why he was feeling better… He had just kind of assumed that the sickness had worn off. How _was_ he going to keep them from noticing? Colette might have already told them, too… Thank the Spirits she hadn't seen his wings, or he'd be in some hot water right now. All that was left was the Svafnir thing, and…

_Sheena might have told them._

Lloyd jerked like a landed fish, his mouth falling open as the thought struck him.

"_Now I'm telling you: either you tell them everything yourself by the time I've made a pact with Volt… or I will."_

"_The Summoner did indeed fulfill her role…"_

The ultimatum had passed. For all he knew, this was Kratos's latest twisted mindgame: rescuing Lloyd only for him to find that all his former friends hated him now. For all he knew, Kratos had been forced to save him just to disrupt Rodyle's plans, since his friends were no longer on their way to help him. For all he knew, Colette had told them about this _thing_ on his shoulder and they had shrugged and said, 'Let it eat him. He's as bad as his father.' For all he knew… For all he knew…

Lloyd gradually became aware that he was hyperventilating, his breath coming in harsh, sharp pants. He couldn't shake the image of Zelos's cold, disgusted face from his mind's eye.

"_You weren't even brave enough to tell them yourself? What a pathetic coward… How dare you place that burden on my gorgeous Sheena?"_

"LLOYD." Someone shook his shoulders, breaking the teenaged thief from his reverie. He found Kratos's chest not far from his face, the man's gloved hands resting on his shoulders. "Calm down. Take deep breaths."

Lloyd's teeth chattered, but he nodded and did his best. It was actually painful at first, but after a few minutes, he managed to calm himself somewhat. Physically, anyway. Mentally, he was still in a borderline-meltdown state of panic.

Kratos, unaware of his estranged son's train of thought, pulled back and began to cast First Aid, in case this was a relapse of his sickness. Lloyd stopped him.

"No, no, I'm fine. Physically." The brunet's eyes turned desperate. "Teach me how to cast that spell!"

"What?" Kratos almost stammered. Almost.

"Zelos taught me how to use magic, and I can use Angel Feathers now, but if I learned First Aid, I could use it on myself to keep the fever down!" Lloyd explained with crazed triumph.

"…Very well," Kratos acquiesced. It couldn't hurt, and it would at least keep the boy still until his friends got there. That feather he had given them should lead them here at any moment… Always assuming, of course, that they had succeeded in retrieving their rheiards and were now on their way. "The first thing to remember is that…"

Lloyd listened raptly, the last traces of madness falling from his face as he settled in to learning. The rest of the world faded away when he focused on controlling his magic: his sickness, his friends, his secrets, his crush, even his 'father'… everything. It wasn't like anything went back to normal (what was normal in his life anymore?), or like he could pretend nothing had changed and everything was how it used to be (it had never been like this anyway), but it was good. It felt good to set aside all of his feelings and devote himself entirely to mastering the task at hand—just like when he had learned to fly. It was peaceful. And peace was a thing that Lloyd had sorely missed in recent times.

That peace was shattered just as Lloyd thought he was getting the hang of the spell. It started as a low whining noise at the edges of his hearing. Gradually, it grew louder and louder, until Lloyd looked up in irritation.

Four black dots grew larger and larger in the clear, blue sky, heading directly towards the Aurions. Lloyd sprang to his feet (he and Kratos had seated themselves cross-legged on the grass some time ago), his eyes opened as wide as he could make them to better see. The dots were winged, though the wings did not move. They were lumpy and irregular. Gradually, Lloyd came to realize that there was a fifth dot, smaller than the first four, which was glowing pinkly.

"Your companions have arrived," Kratos observed softly. Lloyd turned to glare at the still-seated man, his foregone hostility returning. Or, at least, he felt the need to give that impression. He couldn't let the old traitor know how confused Lloyd's feelings had become.

"This means we're enemies again, got it?" he stressed. Kratos stood slowly and brushed off the backs of his knees. Lloyd backed up several paces as the dots grew even larger, one of the four bigger ones swooping down dangerously low. Kratos looked at him with inscrutable ruby eyes.

"Lloyd, our methods may not be the same, but someday, I hope you'll realize…"

Lloyd stuck his arm above his head, hand splayed wide. The dot—a dot no longer, but a highly recognizable swordsman piloting a rheiard—buzzed overhead with a motorized roar that nearly drowned out his last words. The pilot leaned down and held out his arm as well, his palm smacking into Lloyd's loudly. The boy was jerked upwards and to the side, wincing as his arm protested painfully. It was only painful for a moment, before the pilot swung him up behind him on the rheiard and Lloyd could plant his feet and hold on to the young man's back tightly, soft words still echoing on the wind.

"…_that I could never be your enemy…"_

"Welcome back, bud," Zelos's grin was slightly strained as he regarded his friend over his shoulder. "You all in once piece?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," Lloyd said. It was the truth. For now. "More importantly, watch where you're flying!"

"What am I going to hit, way up here?" Zelos shook his head at the non-answer, but turned back to the controls once again. There would be time enough to discuss it all later.

"Birds. One of the others," Lloyd answered shortly. "Those ruins." Anything else was cut off by Lloyd's involuntary yelp as his world suddenly rotated ninety degrees, forcing him to clutch Zelos even tighter to prevent his feet slipping right off the rheiard. They settled back horizontally a few seconds later, remarkably having missed crashing right into the stone monoliths.

Lloyd breathed a shaky sigh of relief and rested his cheek on Zelos's warm back. Around him, he could see the others arranged at various altitudes. Sheena and Raine (big surprise) piloted a craft together, while lower down (and jerking erratically at times) Presea held onto a red-faced Genis. Regal directed his own vehicle off to Lloyd's other side, while Colette flew with her own wings beside him. The blonde angel drifted over when she saw Lloyd was looking, keeping pace just beside them, above the rheiard's wing.

"Lloyd, I'm so happy you're okay! You are okay, right? You look much better," she gushed. Lloyd smiled back.

"I'm fine now, Colette! You don't need to worry," he told her. He didn't need to pitch his voice over the wind for her sensitive ears to pick it up, a fact for which he was grateful. He wouldn't want to be screaming in Zelos's ear, after all…

"That's great! I was worried Rodyle would hurt you after I left…"

"I told you: stop worrying! I'm not hurt at all," Lloyd kept up his smile, gratified to see the girl grin back at him before peeling off. There was nothing hurtful in this kind of lying, so he didn't feel guilty at all for it. In fact, he felt pleased that he'd managed to set the girl's mind at ease. She already had so much on her shoulders… Besides, he knew that if any of the others had asked him the same questions (except Genis, of course), he felt secure knowing that he would have told them the truth. It was just to protect Colette; guilt like that might have literally killed the poor angel.

"Are you really?" Zelos's voice was low, almost as if he wasn't really addressing the question to the boy behind him. But, as always, angelic hearing trumped the wind.

"I am now," he shrugged back. "Rodyle was none too pleased, but Kratos healed me up after he… saved… me. How did you come to be cooperating with him, anyway?"

"He did that on his own," this time it was Zelos's turn to shrug. "He came to gloat about us losing Colette after Sheena had made the pact with Volt, but once he found out you'd been kidnapped too, he was off like a shot. He did this cool thing where he pulled a feather out of those wings of his first, though, saying it would lead us to him. And it did—like a compass or something. It disappeared when we got close, though."

"Huh," was all Lloyd could think of to say. "So Sheena made the pact, then? …I heard… about Corinne… How is she? And Presea?"

"She's holding up," Zelos said, his expression grave. "Better now that her chief's been avenged and we've got a way to save the worlds…"

"Huh?" Lloyd blinked. A tide rose within him, excited and uncontrollable. He had to hold himself back from snapping Zelos in half with his angelic strength as his hold tightened. "You did?! How? What is it? When? Tell me, Zelos!"

"Calm down, bud," the redhead wheezed. "Let up a little, will ya? We've got a ways to go back to the Renegade Base, there'll be plenty of time to tell you everything."

"The Renegade Base?" Lloyd blinked. "Why are we going there?"

"Well, let me start at the beginning…"

The story took the better part of their flight north. Lloyd listened with wonder as Zelos first described the tragedy that had befallen Sheena and Mizuho year ago, moving on to the specifics of the pact she'd made. These specifics included Volt's having a pact with this Mithos character just like Undine, as well as Corinne's sacrifice. He then told of Undine appearing, and the conversation that followed.

Mana links. It made sense, if the worlds were competing for the same mana supply, that they were linked _somewhere_. They had found the where. And severed a link. And if they severed the other links…

The worlds could be saved.

Lloyd couldn't stop grinning. Finally! He could fix this horrible, twisted reality and get rid of those Desians for good. Then… he would finally be able to save his sister…

And he'd get to meet all the Summon Spirits! Every last one of them! He'd be able to look at their gems, and maybe even talk to them! He'd see them fight, he'd see them with his own eyes! He was almost giddy with anticipation. He was going to meet his gods.

Soon, in fact. The Restoration Group had swung by the island where Kratos had taken him quickly, before turning right back around and flying north towards the Renegades' Base, where they had just come from after stealing back their repaired rheiards. The idea was to use the mana distortion above the base to travel back to Sylvarant quickly, before the Renegades could mount a defensive to prevent them from doing so. Once there, they would make a quick run by the Triet Ruins (where they would make a pact with Efreet) and hopefully be well on their way by the day's end.

_An eventful day for Sheena,_ Lloyd mused to himself, sympathetically. It was obvious that she hadn't outed his secret yet. And she most likely wouldn't today. Which meant that all he had to do was talk to her tonight—convince her that telling everyone _now_ would only complicate things, distract them from the task at hand. They were so close! He could almost taste it…

A flash of pink in the corner of his eye caught the boy's attention. He glanced over to see Genis's rheiard bucking jerkily beneath him, Presea's pigtails bouncing as she clutched him for dear life. Lloyd chuckled, wondering to himself if Genis was doing that on purpose. Knowing the naïve mage, probably not. He'd been so determined to help her… how was it that Lloyd hadn't noticed his friend's crush until this moment? He must have been preoccupied with his own…

But, speaking of Presea…

"_Our spies have reported the mutt's death…"_

_Spie_s_…_

Lloyd looked around at his friends, feeling as if he'd swallowed a lump of coal. Had one of them betrayed him, too? Which one? Whoever it was couldn't know about his secrets, so that ruled out Sheena and Zelos (_thank the Spirits, thank the Spirits, thank the Spirits…_). Not Colette, either, or she wouldn't have been kidnapped… Or, if that had been a charade, she wouldn't have escaped and brought everyone else to the rescue…

Suspicion rolled through Lloyd, each wave feeling like a punch in the gut. Genis? He liked Presea… Enough to help her relay information back to Rodyle, a fellow half-elf? He had himself admitted his hatred for all humans…

Raine? Of them all, she was probably the cleverest, and had always kept any personal agendas locked well away from them. Did she share her brother's hatred? She certainly hadn't tried to help Colette when she'd known the girl was going to die…

Regal? Who knew anything about that man? Maybe Lloyd had been wrong to trust him. He clearly had connections to a few unsavory individuals… Who was to say Rodyle wasn't one of them? And that might explain his inexplicable relationship with Presea…

Lloyd buried his face in the back of Zelos's salmon-pink jacket to stifle a whimper. He hated this. This was worse than any physical pain, this not-trusting those closest to him. He couldn't stand second-guessing his friends…

He had to tell Sheena and Zelos. They'd help him figure it out. He knew he could trust them with his life—and he did. They were smarter than him. They would know what to do. And this might convince Sheena to keep his secrets secret for now, in case they leaked back to Cruxis.

Lloyd shook that selfish thought away. He couldn't be thinking of his own problems right now. This was much more serious than that. If one of them was a spy… that meant that all the others were in danger. And as much as he hatedhated_hated_ the thought of fighting his friends, he would do so—no matter how much it hurt—to protect the others. Friendship could turn to hatred in the blink of an eye, just that easily.

He'd proven that with Kratos.

…Hadn't he?


	31. Out of the Bag

**Zelos: Yeesh, what is with this fic and late updates?**

**Kitty: Hey, it's been an eventful few weeks, okay? Christmas and New Year's and school starting again… Anyway, I'm sorry about how long it took to get this up. Happy New Year's everybody!**

**Genis: YearoftheKitty is now the proud owner of more sweaters than most people in **_**Iceland**_**, but no Tales of Symphonia.**

**Kitty: Vote if you haven't already! (It's a real close one now!) Other than that, enjoy!**

**Chapter Thirty-One**

**Out of the Bag**

"_Show me how to lie; you're getting better all the time,_

_And turning all against the one is an art that's hard to teach._

_Another clever word sets off an unsuspecting herd_

_And as you step back into line, a mob jumps to their feet."_

—_The Offspring, 'You're Gonna Go Far, Kid'_

"That was so cool, Sheena!"

Zelos hid a smile, watching the brunet thief bounce around like a happy puppy, practically drooling all over Sheena's boots. Sheena was hiding one, too, he could see. As always, Lloyd cheered everybody up without even meaning to, just by being Lloyd. Even now, as they hurried out of the Triet Ruins to where they'd stashed the rheairds, intent on a quick getaway before the Renegades came after them.

"Man, I wish I could conjure Summon Spirits, too," he continued wistfully, turning the garnet over and over in his hands, watching the light spark off it like flames. "And say cool things like 'Burn to oblivion!'"

"Knowing Lloyd, he's more likely to end up setting one of us on fire," Genis taunted. His smile was wicked. Lloyd rounded on the mage, full of righteous indignation.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Oh, nothing," the half-elf cackled, hurrying on ahead. "Come on, we should hurry up!"

"Grr, Genis!" Lloyd growled and chased after his friend. Zelos kept pace alongside Sheena, watching the youngest boys race each other to their hidden craft.

"Do you think the twerp's realized it yet?" he murmured under his breath. Sheena shook her head, her smile fond.

"No. It's only natural that the 'two' of them would act similarly, after all. I think it's just natural for both of them to fall into the pattern…"

"That lovely Professor of yours is going to figure it out, sooner or later," he predicted. Sheena nodded this time, her smile fading.

"I know. The night he returned… I told him that if he didn't tell everyone by the time I'd made a pact with Volt, I'd tell them myself," she said grimly. Zelos inhaled sharply.

"You wouldn't…!" he cut himself off. She would. "That will kill him, Sheena. _They_ will kill him."

"What else can we do? Keep hiding it like this?" Sheena's eyes were hard. No quarter there. "No, the truth had got to out. And if he won't do it, I will. We've left it too long as it is."

Zelos did not agree. He couldn't, not with something that would cause Lloyd so much pain. If the boy could hide this until they'd saved the worlds, then what did it matter anyway? In recent times, Zelos had honed his Lloyd-protecting instincts to the finest of points. He had had to, in order to come up with excuse after excuse as to why the Renegades couldn't swoop in and kidnap him. So far, their constant run-ins with patrols of Papal Knights had warned Yuan's troops away (they preferred to avoid direct conflict with Tethe'alla's leaders, after all). Then had come Lloyd's capture by Rodyle (after which Zelos could say with confidence that they were being monitored by Cruxis—another deterrent). Now he was banking on getting as far away from the Renegade Base as possible in a single day so that he could claim it was a snap decision he'd had no time to report, as well as claiming to be lost and unable to lead the Renegades to him for good measure.

All in all, it meant that Yuan was ticked, and Zelos was more determined than ever to keep Lloyd safe—if only so that none of his hard work went to waste. He would have continued to argue with the Summoner, but just then, they reached the squadron of parked vehicles. Everyone scattered to their assigned craft. Zelos lingered a moment, shooting the ninja a sharp look.

"We'll continue this later," he promised, before joining Lloyd on their rheaird. The boy was still grinning, flushed from his sprint across the desert, his hair powdered to a tan color by all the sand in it.

"If you get dirt on my jacket, _you_ will be buying me a new one, capiche?" the swordsman thrust a warning finger in Lloyd's face. The boy nodded furiously, shedding sand in a small cloud around him. Zelos sighed, resigned himself to a ruined jacket, and took his place at the controls.

That night, they camped on the beach, just across the small arm of the sea from the Tower of Salvation. Lloyd dug into his dinner ravenously. He felt so much more energetic now that he was back home! Not to mention on a quest to make pacts with every last one of the Summon Spirits, simultaneously completing his goal of saving the worlds and abolishing the Chosen system! If the worlds disconnected, Cruxis would topple, and everything would be all right again. He felt invigorated at the very thought.

His vigor, unfortunately, did not go unnoticed.

"Lloyd, we need to talk," Raine spoke up after everyone had finished eating, gathered around their green-tinged driftwood fire. All around were grim faces. Lloyd blinked in confusion, swallowed nervously, and nodded. The Professor continued. "You collapsed in front of us in Ozette just before you were kidnapped, and Colette tells us that you were unconscious for two days. Not only that, but she says you have been hiding how sick you were for some time now. Yet here you are, running around and acting as if you weren't on your deathbed the last time we saw you."

Lloyd winced. Of course. But that was okay. He'd planned what he was going to tell them. Though… she hadn't mentioned the crystal…

…Colette hadn't told them…?

He shook off his confusion. Time to obscure the truth. "I was pretty bad off, yeah. It wasn't like I was _dying_, though, it was just a fever."

"No!" Colette protested. "That stuff… I mean, that sickness wasn't just a fever!"

Lloyd frowned. She really hadn't told them. He was grateful (it made his job easier) but why would she do that? It wasn't like her. Now he was worried. "I was _going_ to say… it was some kind of fungus or something that _caused_ the fever. Colette saw it," he nodded to her. "The thing is… it's gone now. Kratos healed me when he… saved me."

"Really?" Colette's face crumpled in relief. She was sitting well back from the fire, for some reason, and only Lloyd's artificially heightened senses allowed him to pick out her features at all.

"Really?" Genis, Sheena, Raine, and Regal were more skeptical.

"Really," Lloyd nodded furiously. "How else would I be so much better?" Here it came. Lloyd bit the inside of his cheek as subtly as possible, as he lifted his left fist to thump twice against his right shoulder. Through the blood in his mouth and black dizziness, he managed to get out (in a normal tone, no less), "See? All fixed."

"He told me the same thing when I asked while we were flying," Zelos nodded. "He seems cured to me."

"Well… if you say so…" Raine frowned. "But I don't trust Kratos. If you start to feel even a little sick, you _must_ come and tell me, all right?"

"Don't worry, I will," Lloyd assented. He didn't mean a word of it. The minute he felt sick again, or the ache in his shoulder flared into unbearable pain once more, he was going to cast First Aid on himself. And he would continue to do so for as long as it took, until he could get to Sybak or the Elemental Lab again. Surely one or the other would be close to one of the Summon Spirits they were seeking? In the meantime, he had to figure out what was up with Colette. The girl couldn't lie to save her life (or… so he thought…) but she was keeping this crystal growth a secret? Why?

"I'll make sure he does, ma'am," Zelos mock-saluted, and clapped a hand on Lloyd's shoulder. Thankfully, it was the left one. "Now that that's settled, whose turn is it for night watch?"

"Mine," Presea spoke up. Genis frowned, but it was Raine who spoke up.

"Are you sure, Presea? You need to sleep again now that you're cured."

"I am sure," she nodded. "I need time… to think."

"Very well," the Professor gave in. Lloyd smirked. Perfect. Within ten minutes, the fire had been banked, and everyone was wrapped up in their bedrolls. Fifteen more minutes, and they were all fast asleep.

Lloyd crawled out of his blankets and tiptoed towards the driftwood log Presea had perched herself on, her great axe glinting where it lay on her lap. Lloyd deliberately scuffed his shoes in the sand as he approached so as not to startle her into attacking him with it. She turned, her eyes narrowing as they caught sight of him. The guardedly hostile expression took Lloyd off-guard. She'd been much friendlier without a soul…

"Hey, Presea," he swung himself up beside her, offering a tentative smile. "Listen, there's something we should…"

"You are an angel," the little girl said flatly. "Cruxis is our enemy. And you told them that _I_ was leading you to Sybak. Who are you? What are you hiding?"

Lloyd flinched. This was not off to a great start… "Yeah. I'm an angel. But I'm not with Cruxis, and I'm not your enemy. As for the other thing… Well, I couldn't tell them that I'd flown up and seen the way to Sybak myself, could I?" he chuckled nervously. Presea did not join in. Lloyd sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "Look, here's how it is: I used to be a human. A thief, in Sylvarant. I equipped this Exsphere…"

Presea sucked in a startled breath, her eyes going back to their usual width. Lloyd nodded. "Yeah, I know. It gave me wings. I couldn't feel, eat, sleep, or talk for a while… But I got my hands on a Keycrest eventually. At that time… Svafnir was traveling with the others on Colette's journey. Genis told you about all of this, right?"

"He did," Presea nodded. "He is difficult to understand at times," she added distantly. Lloyd smiled.

"He has selective coherency problems. Anyway, you know what happened from there on. I've been hiding it from the others in case they reacted… well, like you did. But worse. You weren't there when Kratos betrayed us, but man…" Lloyd shuddered. He wasn't even faking it. "I do not want them that mad at me, ever. Oh, except Zelos and Sheena already found out, too."

"…I understand," Presea nodded slowly. "I am sorry for leaping to conclusions. You cured me, and I can never repay you for that. I will keep your secret."

"Thanks, Presea," Lloyd smiled. It faded. "But… Presea, Rodyle said something weird before… I know you used to be spying for him, but… Do you know if he had any other spies? Like, watching us?"

"No…" she shook her head, pigtails whipping her cheeks. "I do not know. I am sorry."

"That's okay," Lloyd sighed. "I didn't think you would." The young girl watched him with oddly wise blue eyes for a moment before speaking again.

"Even if he does have other spies… I know you will stop them," she pronounced clearly. "You are a strong person, Lloyd." Lloyd blinked, taken aback.

"Th-Thanks…! You're pretty strong yourself, you know," he stuttered out. The corner of Presea's mouth twitched, and she turned her gaze back to the darkened wilderness around them. Lloyd, understanding that their conversation was over, gave the girl an awkward pat on the shoulder before sliding down the log and trudging back to camp.

Now, there was just one more thing he had to take care of…

"Wh-What did you say?" Lloyd blinked, unable to believe his ears. Maybe the wind had finally overcome his ears, or the whining of the rheaird's engine…

Sheena, in front of him, cast a grim look over her shoulder. Zelos had seemed almost hurt when Lloyd had chosen to ride with the Summoner that day, though Lloyd for the life of him couldn't understand why. Raine's disgruntlement, on the other hand, he understood perfectly, though he would never know how Sheena had convinced her to share with her brother, while Presea rode behind Zelos. It didn't really matter. He just needed to speak with the ninja privately, and the rushing wind and humming engines ensured that no one but she could hear him—unless Colette drifted too close, that was, but the angel had so far kept her distance.

"You heard me," the purple-clad young woman told him. "There's no point in telling them now."

"O-Oh," Lloyd didn't feel at all relieved. He hadn't expected Sheena to give in without any fight at all… It unnerved him. She had to have something else planned, something nasty… "Well, whenever we do it, don't you at least agree we should let them down easy, one secret at a time?"

"That sounds reasonable," Sheena shocked him again by nodding. She _sounded_ sincere… "I think too much at once would just be… too much. We'll do it one step at a time, okay?"

"Yeah…" Lloyd fell into an uneasy silence. He had a bad feeling. A really bad feeling. He knew he was missing something here, but he couldn't figure out what it was, or what would make Shena give in like that after all this time. Whatever it was, he knew it only meant trouble.

Lloyd discovered what Sheena had been planning the next day. They reached the Balacruf Mausoleum at around noon that day, and, within hours, Sheena had made a pact with Lloyd's absolute favorite of all Summon Spirits. He hadn't even needed an excuse not to fight them, since he was a hand-to-hand fighter and Sephie, Yutie, and Fairess _flew. _Instead, he'd spent the time staring, admiring their quick turns and overall grace in the air. They were part of it, not just riding it, like he did. Looking back, he might have started drooling…

Sheena, used to the routine by now, had handed Lloyd the opal to admire (read: fiddle with) on their ride back. And by back, he meant that the group had decided that there was just enough daylight left for them to make it to the nearest town, where they could sleep in real beds for once (and take much-needed baths) that night.

The nearest town.

Which was Asgard.

The very rheairds shook with the force of Lloyd's protestations. He argued, he complained, he begged, he bargained. Nothing he did had any effect. Everyone besides him was bound and determined to spend the night in an inn, have a hot meal of something they hadn't hunted down themselves, and wash the grime of their travels from their skin. In _hot_ water.

That wasn't to say that his overt opposition to the idea went unnoticed. Not at all. Genis ribbed the boy repeatedly for being allergic to soap and water, while Raine patiently told him that whatever he'd stolen from the inhabitants, they wouldn't let him be arrested. Colette sympathized, but held that majority ruled. Presea noticed his panic, and suggested that maybe he could stay in the woods that night and guard the parked rheairds. Regal immediately pointed out that they had wingpacks, and that there was nothing for Lloyd to fear in town at all. Zelos whined that sightseeing would be no fun with his bud in such a bad mood—whining which was more to convince Lloyd to cheer up than to make the others give in to his wishes.

And Sheena. Sheena maintained a grim silence the whole way, no matter what threats Lloyd hissed at her over her shoulder. She calmly seized a fistful of Lloyd's jacket once they were on the ground (Lloyd was grateful he'd been able to cast a surreptitious First Aid on himself during the fight with the Sylph to keep the pain in his shoulder at bay) and began hauling him behind her towards town while the others stored their aircraft.

Lloyd stumbled along obediently to avoid causing a fuss and drawing attention, now that entering town was all but inevitable. He sunk as deeply into his jacket collar as he could, hoping that his hair (which was much longer than it had been the last time he'd been here) covered the rest of his face. He was wearing much better clothes now, too. The townspeople wouldn't (_couldn't_) recognize him now.

Unfortunately, Lloyd had forgotten one detail that proved to be his undoing:

The monument.

"Well, well, well, you guys really are a bunch of bumpkins, aren't you?" Zelos said, gazing around at the wooden buildings with thatched and shingled roofs with something like awe. "I never realized just how backwards you really were…"

"Sylvarant is… different…" Presea noted, not glumly. Regal nodded in agreement.

"Indeed. The differences are startling."

"I'm so glad to be back home!" Genis stretched his arms over his head, taking a deep breath. "Smell that nice, clean air!"

"The mana is returning to Sylvarant," Raine noted, nodding around them. "Look at how much the plants are growing."

"I wonder if Aisha and Linar are doing okay," Colette beamed ebulliently. "We should stop in and say hi!"

"Um, you know, it's getting pretty late, Colette," Lloyd spoke up. He had to twist around to look at her. She was hanging at the very back of the group, for some reason. "Why don't we just check into that inn…?"

"Oh, look!" Genis interrupted, pointing. "They built a statue in the center of town!"

"That wasn't here last time," Colette frowned a little in confusion.

"That must be the memorial Aisha mentioned last time," Raine realized. "Come on, I want to get a closer look at it. You knew the angel they built it for, right, Sheena?"

"I do…" the ninja murmured, following the others as they moved towards the statue. She wasn't getting any kind of pleasure out of this, whatever Lloyd thought. But if the boy wasn't courageous enough to tell them himself…

_You reap what you sow._

The stone statue was of a teenage boy on one knee, with one hand braced against the ground at his side and the other resting atop his upraised knee. His expression was set in a gentle smile—the expression of someone comforting a small, crying child whose hand he had just stepped on. It was really a masterpiece, Lloyd noted foggily. The folds of stone clothes were obviously battered, and even the wild, unkempt mane of hair hanging over half of his face was incredibly realistic. Even more amazing were the two wings that curved out behind his shoulders, each feather carved in exacting detail. It must have taken them months.

It only took Raine moments to whirl around and stare at Lloyd with blazing eyes. Sheena released his jacket and took a few steps back. One by one, everyone turned from the statue to their friend. Genis and Colette didn't take much longer than Raine to recognize the Lloyd of several months ago, and Zelos got it at around that time as well. Presea and Regal took a bit longer (they'd never seen him in any other outfit or with any other haircut than the ones he had now), but eventually caught on to their companion's looks.

"Lloyd Nix," Raine pronounced clearly, her voice carrying across the square. The square which was, unfortunately, fairly crowded. Heads turned everywhere, craning to see the source of the sudden disturbance. "Would you care to explain this to me?"

"What's to explain?" Zelos, who didn't entirely get why there was a statue of Lloyd in Asgard, was quick to speak up. "They've got a statue of some angel that looks a lot like Lloyd. It doesn't mean anything."

"Lloyd," Raine began again. She was cut off by a joyful cry.

"Raine, Genis, Colette, Sheena! You've returned!" A young woman with long hair and a basket under one arm approached the group, wreathed with smiles. Behind her trailed a young man with short, curly brown hair.

"Aisha…" Colette greeted her with a strained smile. "Harley."

"I see you've made some new friends," Aisha cast a quick eye over the rest of the group, heedless of the tension in the air. "Oh! And you've found our new monument. Isn't it beautiful?"

"If I may ask, miss," Regal said quietly. "What is this monument in commemoration of?" Aisha turned her smile on him, quailing a little as his rough appearance before rallying once more.

"Certainly. Some time ago, you see, our humble town was visited by an angel! He came in the form of a sick boy, whom Harley, Linar, and I nursed back to health. Once he was well again, he came before the town and told us that our faith had been tested, and that we had passed. He then gave a token of his favor to a little girl of the village before he and his disciple—Sheena, there—left town," the woman related with misty eyes. One by one, the members of the Restoration Group turned to Sheena and Lloyd—questioning, accusing.

Aisha followed their gazes, skimming over Sheena to land on Lloyd. She looked at him blankly for a moment or two before her eyes flew wide, and her basket tumbled to the ground, spilling vegetables over the dirt. One hand went to her throat, too late to catch her loud gasp of shock, while the other aimed a quavering finger at the trapped-looking boy.

"It's him!" she all but shrieked. "The angel has returned! It's the angel!"

"The angel?"

"The angel!" The shouts traveled over the village in a matter of moments.

"No!" Lloyd tried to shout over them, unsuccessfully. "No, it's not what you think! I'm not…! Aisha, stop…!" It was too late. People were flocking to the square, crowding around the boy and his purple-clad friend, jostling the others out of the way in their attempts to get a better look. There was nowhere for him to run.

"Quiet!" Sheena bellowed in her best future-chief-of-the-village voice. An expectant hush fell over the Asgardians. "This is Lloyd. I think he's got something to tell our friends over there, doesn't he?" She turned eyes as hard as chips of amber on him, her arms folded. Waiting.

Lloyd felt sick. This was worse than any nightmare. This was a thousand times worse. And he couldn't think of a way out. The proof was right there in front of them, literally set in stone. Either he had wings, or he'd tricked hundreds of villagers into believing he was a messenger from Martel.

…_Wait a minute… _

"I don't have anything to tell my friends," Lloyd forced out through a thick throat. Sheena made a noise of disbelief, but he overrode her. "I have something to tell everyone in Asgard. You've all undergone another test, and do you know what the results of this one are?" _Deep breath. Deep breath. You can do this. They_ can't _know_. Lloyd raised his voice to a shout. "Every last one of you is a damned fool!"

Shocked whispers ran through the crowd. No good. They looked fearful of him. His point hadn't come across. He'd have to try this again.

"You've all been tricked! Do you have any idea how easy it was to come in here with those fake wings and convince you all I was an angel? You morons!" Lloyd barked a mirthless laugh. "I pulled a feather right out and it didn't hurt at all! Didn't that tip you off? Didn't you get I was just conning you all so I could come back later and take whatever I wanted?"

This time, the crowd's mood turned dark. Aisha clapped her hands over her mouth, her face pale. Somewhere, Linar and Harley began a startled protest, but were both too caught by surprise to put much force behind it. Soon, Sheena would join them. He couldn't let her start, or this cockamamie plan would never work. Lloyd inflated his chest, bracing himself for the final nail in the coffin. _His_ coffin.

"Any real angel wouldn't give a single copper about this town of bumpkins," he spat off to the side, affixing a somewhat lopsided evil smirk on his face. "Looks like I'm smarter than the lot of them, huh?"

That did it. Lloyd's head jerked around, a small splat sounding out as the ripe fruit someone had thrown rebounded off his cheek onto the cobblestones beneath his feet. As if the fruit had burst a dam, suddenly the air was thick with projectiles, as well as shouts of anger.

"Heretic!"

"You lying monster!"

"Filthy thief!"

At first, most of the thrown items were various forms of produce from shoppers' baskets. Soon, though, the Asgardians remembered the recent masonry-work that had gone on in the square, and the debris it had left behind…

Lloyd threw his arms over his head to protect it from the chunks of stone now pelting him from all directions. This… this hadn't actually been part of his plan. His true goal had been to rile the crowd up enough that they would attempt to run him out, like he'd been run out many times before. His friends would follow—or, they wouldn't, either way—and he'd remind them all that he'd been a heartless criminal in the past. He hadn't anticipated the strength of their faith, that it would drive them to this… For once, spur-of-the-moment thinking had failed him.

And now it appeared that he was being stoned.

The boy dropped to his knees and hunched over, trying to make a smaller target, his mind whirling. He was surrounded on all sides. There was no running away from this, unless he somehow broke through the crowds. But there were too many for him to fight through bare-handed… But using magic (what little he knew, anyway) defeated the whole purpose! The same went for flying up and away from them… Besides which, even if he did managed to get off the ground, they might just shoot him out of the air anyway. Stones hurt his wings, too.

Panic assaulted him as surely as the villagers were. There was no way out. He was trapped. And this time, he might actually die…

_You reap what you sow._

"Force Field!"

The stones from one direction halted. He could hear them bouncing off of something. Lloyd lowered his arm enough to peek out. A translucent, green shield held the rocks at bay—from the front, at least.

Not a moment later, Lloyd was suddenly surrounded on all sides by people. He flinched, expecting fists or feet or even more stones, before he recognized them.

"_LLOYD NIX_, what in the name of every hell conceived were you _thinking_?!" Sheena, on Lloyd's left, hollered at the top of her lungs.

"Not much, obviously," Genis, in front of him (behind the shield) grunted. He, like the others forming a ring around Lloyd, had his back turned to the brunet, facing the enraged villagers.

"You know, bud," Zelos winced as a rock he didn't quite manage to block struck him in the arm, "just because the Tethe'allans tried to kill _you_ when you first landed doesn't mean you have to return the favor!"

"The situation has become dangerous," Regal put in with a grunt, glancing at Colette. "We should either run or reason with them quickly, before they attack in earnest."

"R-Right!" Colette, looking bewildered by the sudden turn of events, nodded shakily. Her wings came out in a burst of pink-white light, sending the nearest villagers stumbling back. "Please, everyone! Stop this!"

"An… an angel…?" a villager stammered. "Your wings aren't like his…"

"They're made of magic! She's a real angel!"

"A _real_ angel!"

"Of course she's a real angel," Aisha, looking pale and confused, called out strongly. "That's the Chosen of Mana, Colette Brunel!"

"The Chosen! The Chosen!" The crowd took up the cry. "The Chosen has come to punish the imposter!"

"N-No!" Colette protested, shaking her head wildly. "He's not…! Lloyd is our friend, he'd never…!"

"I would!" Lloyd overrode her, desperate now. His mind was whirling again. His friends had driven them back, put them off-balance. If he could just convince his _friends_ it was a scam, he could come out of this okay. They'd known he was a criminal before joining them (technically, he still was one). They'd accepted it. Surely they wouldn't abandon him for a con job from time gone by? They had to. It was too late to change his story now…

"I tricked them," he repeated, appealing to the profiles of his half-turned friends, still frozen in protective stances around him. "I wanted their money, so I conned them." Here came his trump card. "You know me! You know I'm no angel!"

"Lloyd…" Genis murmured, his face softening. Colette nodded in agreement, her face radiating absolute trust. Raine's expression was still stern, but understanding had crept in to blur the edges. Regal, too, sympathized. Zelos and Presea, who knew the first thing but not the second one, eyed him in the same way, clearly taking their cues from his lead.

"Lloyd, you…!" Sheena's face alone twisted in anger. She, too, had seen their attitudes change with that once sentence—yet more victims to Lloyd Aurion's honeyed tongue. She saw her chance for truth slipping away from her. She hadn't meant for any of this to happen, but she was more determined than ever not to let Lloyd continue getting away with this endless verbal minuet of lies, lies, _lies_.

Lloyd jerked back just a split second too late as Sheena lunged. There were exclamations of shock from the other six in the group as the ninja wrestled the struggling teenager, both shouting for all they were worth.

"Show them! Show them the truth, Lloyd!"

"Get off of me! Let go! _Don't look_!"

Too late. With a tearing sound, Sheena finally managed to yank Lloyd's jacket (the jacket he'd stupidly _stupidly_ worn open today) back, off his shoulders and arms and, consequently, his back. As the garment slipped away, Lloyd, in a last-ditch effort to stop her, hit out at the girl with the nearest available limb.

Which just so happened not to be either of his arms.

Thankfully, his shirt had sleeves enough to cover the growth of bluish crystal on his shoulder.

Unfortunately, the slits were still there.

And now one snowy-feathered wing was extended fully out behind him, Sheena sprawled on the ground where the appendage had clipped her under the chin. Fully in view of the entire city. And, more, importantly, the Restoration Group.

"Well," Zelos said. "_That _secret didn't last too terribly long, did it?"


	32. Pathological

**Kitty: Ugh… I hate failing the goals I set for myself… **

**Zelos: If she won't say it, I will. The update schedule for this fic has been pushed back to once every two weeks. **

**Genis: But… she's said that before, hasn't she? And she's still updating weekly.**

**Kitty: I know. But this time it's for real. Sorry, folks. I've hit a real block in the plot…**

**Zelos: Which is why YearoftheKitty will never own Tales of Symphonia.**

**Kitty: Yeah… Sorry again. Enjoy.**

**Chapter Thirty-One**

**Pathological**

"_Here we are, pretending we're okay._

_(You can say what you want, but you still can't fool me.)_

_The lives we're living—it's all a masquerade._

_(I try to smile, but I can't remember how.)_

_So how'd we get so jaded? Is it so complicated_

_To not give up on me?"_

—_Simple Plan, 'Holding On'_

"Lloyd, you're…" For the first time in quite a while, words failed Professor Raine Sage. Her brother fared little better, his mouth flopping open and shut like a landed trout gasping for breath.

"He… _is_ an angel…?" The crowd of Asgardians were just as confused as the better part of the Regeneration Group.

"What's going on?" a woman in the back summed up the general question running through everyone's mind. Sheena climbed to her feet, rubbing her jaw ruefully. That was going to swell for sure.

"This is Lloyd Nix," she shouted to them. "Before he was born, his mother was part of a Desian experiment, trying to create an artificial replica of the Chosen's Cruxis Crystal." Campaigning for truth though she might have been, Sheena was not stupid enough to announce that the entire Chosen system was a fallacy created by the Desians on the order of Cruxis to a village that had just tried to stone a boy for insulting their faith. It would just cause unnecessary problems anyway. "After her death, he unknowingly equipped this Angelus Project. Just as Colette's Crystal did to her, his gradually changed him into an angel."

"We saw it!" Harley shoved his way to the front of the crowd, his voice finally heeded by the listeners. "When Sheena brought him here, he was sick because his wings were caught beneath his skin! Linar and I had to cut them out!"

"Exactly," Sheena nodded to him. "I found him collapsed in the wilderness while I was… following the Chosen. At a distance. In any case, he _is_ an angel, but he's not with Cruxis. We apologize for deceiving you, but Lloyd and I hoped that swearing you to _secrecy_," she cast a stern look at the villagers, who were suddenly collectively very interested in their shoes, "would keep the Desians from hearing about him and coming after him."

"But why did you hide it from _us_?" Raine demanded, regaining the ability to speak as well as her natural suspicion. "And when did you find him, anyway?"

"It was just after our confrontation at the Balacruf Mausoleum," Sheena said, quietly enough that only the Regeneration Group could hear her, and not the villagers. "On the way back to the mainland that night, I ran into Svafnir. He said he'd been out walking when he'd caught Lloyd's scent, as well as that of a monster. He and I found Lloyd and fought off the monster—that was how Svafnir lost his tail. We took him to Asgard to get help, since he was sick, apparently because he was growing wings."

"But they didn't recognize Svafnir when we visited," Raine accused. "Only you."

"He didn't enter town," Lloyd put in dully, staring at his shoes. "Townspeople don't like wolves."

"We swore the villagers to secrecy, and Lloyd and I parted ways just outside of town. We didn't tell Svafnir. Vaf and I went to Luin next, and you know the story from there," Sheena fabricated.

"Is that why you escaped and Svafnir didn't?" Genis found his voice at last, the words coming out loudly and aggressively. His fists clenches at his sides, his eyes narrowing. "Because you could _fly_? Is that why he died?!"

"No!" Lloyd looked up at this, his face stamped with shock. How could Genis think…? Well, he'd said it himself once, hadn't he?

"_They might kill me on suspicion of being in cahoots with you if they find out. I'm not_ that _close a friend."_

He wasn't _that_ close a friend. Lloyd Nix wasn't, anyway. Svafnir was the one who'd bonded with them. Lloyd was just… Svafnir's replacement. Genis must have been remembering that now, realizing how easily this 'stranger' had slipped into his life because he _talked_ like the half-elf's dead friend. The others were remembering it, too.

_I knew it._

_They hate me_.

"Why didn't you wait in Palmacosta?" the white-haired mage was demanding. "You said you would! Was that a lie, too? Of course it was, who am I kidding? I _believed_ you! 'I might lie, I might hide things, but everything I do is for my friends,' you said. And I _believed_ you!"

"Genis…" Lloyd tried.

"No, no more lying!" Genis overrode him. "Why didn't you tell _us_?! You hid this just to save your own skin! This wasn't for your friends, this was for _you_!"

It was surprising, Lloyd thought, how angry someone could sound while tears poured down their face. He was crying, too, but he didn't think he was capable of sounding angry at the moment. Just… heartbroken. Even Colette was crying, though she had her hands over her mouth and was shaking her head slowly. Lloyd wasn't sure what that meant, but she looked just as heartbroken as he felt.

Regal and Raine were looking at him with identical stony masks. Presea and Zelos seemed sympathetic… as much as either of them ever were, anyway. Sheena didn't look triumphant at all. Just pitying.

"You're right," he said. His voice was hoarse. "I… I know I'm selfish. I know I'm a coward. You don't deserve to have a friend like me. But I…"

"_Stop it_!" Genis slapped his hands over his ears and screwed his eyes shut, his voice rising to a scream. "Shut up! Just go away! _Go_!"

"Lloyd, wait, don't…!" Sheena took a step forward, her hand reaching for his sleeve. Lloyd evaded the grab, his face closed.

"Bud," Zelos spoke up as well, "you don't have to…"

"It's okay," he interrupted. "They don't want me here. I'll go." He turned and began to walk away. He'd only gotten a few steps when Raine's voice called after him.

"Lloyd."

He turned his head, not quite daring to hope. The look on the teacher's face wasn't friendly, but it was softer than it had been.

"We need time to think," she told him. "To talk about this."

"I know," he nodded. "I'll be back tomorrow morning. You can kick me out officially then."

"Safety is not assured outside the village at night," Presea announced, looking worried. "Likelihood of monster attacks: seventy-six percent."

"I'll be fine," he assured her (as well as Sheena and Zelos, who looked equally concerned). "I'll roost on the highest cliff I can find."

With that said, he spread his other wing out behind him, shaking them to work out the kinks of their long confinement. The villagers left before him parted to either side, out of the range of his wingspan. The brunet took off at a run a few yards down the road, before flapping once, _hard_. Taking off from a level piece of ground in this little wind was a challenge, but desperation (he didn't want to completely break down here, not in front of the entire village of Asgard) gave him strength, and Lloyd was airborne within moments. He circled the village once, scouting the surrounding landscape, before taking off for the highest cliff he could see.

A few hours into the night, Lloyd was weighing the pros and cons of swooping into town and just borrowing somebody's blanket for the night. One the one hand, stealing now (right under their noses) probably wouldn't score him any points with his erstwhile friends. Then again, if he didn't, there was a high probability he was going to loose his un-gloved fingers—which were even now turning white at the tips. It _was_ winter, after all.

The angel huddled on his ledge with his wings fluffed up and wrapped tightly around him just like his arms were wrapped around his raised knees. Even so, he was shivering in the wind. To distract himself, he tipped his head back and examined the stars. Some shivered in sympathy with him, cold little lights in the vast, dark vault of the sky.

After some time of stargazing, the little pinpricks of light were blotted out by a brighter smear of light. This light was pink.

"Colette…" Lloyd trailed, astonished. "How did you find me…?"

"I didn't," the girl shrugged, alighting next to him with a shiver. "You said you would be on the highest cliff, so I looked, and I saw your wings. They're very white. Here." She held out her arms, upon which a stack of bedding rested. "We thought you'd be cold out here on your own."

"Thanks," Lloyd mumbled, taking it. "'We'…?"

"Sheena, Zelos, Presea, and I," Colette clarified. Her wings were snuffed out as she sat on the lip of the ridge next to him. This was actually the safest place for her to be: not only did sitting mean she couldn't trip, but if she somehow still fell over, she wouldn't hit the ground. Her wings would reappear to save her before then. "Genis is still very, very upset…"

"I'll bet…" Lloyd shut his eyes, pained. "Aren't you?"

"I'm sorry… but I am, a little," Colette turned sad eyes on him. "Is that okay? I don't want you to be unhappy, but if I'd known… If I'd known…"

"You wouldn't have felt so alone," Lloyd finished, sighing. He couldn't even bring himself to derive amusement from Colette asking his permission to be mad at him. "I know. I'm so, so sorry, Colette. I know how hard it was… firsthand."

"But… I don't agree with Genis," Colette looked down at her folded hands. "You're our friend. I trust you. You hid the truth _because_ you cared about us. Like me…"

"What else are you hiding, Colette?" Lloyd didn't mean to say it, but the words escaped in a low murmur. He couldn't even hope she wouldn't hear it, not with her hearing. Sure enough, the blonde girl whipped around, nearly falling off the cliff in the process, her eyes wide.

"H-Hiding? Hiding what? I'm not hiding anything."

"You didn't tell them about the crystal. Just that I was sick," Lloyd had no choice but to clarify. He really did want to know, even if his timing was atrocious. "Why not?"

"I'm so sorry!" Colette's eyes filled. "I'm a terrible person, aren't I? I didn't… I wanted… I really _wanted_ for the Professor to help you, but…"

"Colette, it's okay, it's okay!" Lloyd floundered, waving his hands erratically in what were supposed to be calming gestures. "I'm not mad! Don't apologize! Don't cry!"

"I'm sorry…" she mumbled miserably, swiping at her eyes. "I planned on telling them if they couldn't help you, but if you could get help without them knowing… then…"

"Colette," the brunet angel said flatly, seriously. She was afraid, he could tell that much. It was rolling off of her in waves. But it wasn't fear of him, or his anger. It was something else. It was why she was hiding _his_ disease—a ludicrously out-of-character act for the selfless Colette. "Tell me."

"…It's…" her voice was a broken whisper. "…It's on my arm, too…"

The early winter breeze froze Lloyd to the stone he was sitting on. His shoulder, in particular, felt as cold as ice where he could feel it at all, around the edges of the crystallization. His mouth worked, but no sound emerged. Colette was babbling now, frantic.

"I hid it because I didn't want anyone to worry, and you've all already done _so much_ for me…! But when you got sick, I thought that maybe it was contagious, so I tried to stay away from everyone. Kratos healed you—didn't he?—so it must not be that terrible… right?" Colette's hand migrated to her shoulder, her eyes unfocused. Lloyd mirrored the gesture, his brow furrowed as his mind started up with an almost audible grinding noise.

Colette was sick, too? With the same crystal disease? What were the odds…? Unless it really was contagious. But in that case, _everyone_ should have gotten it by now, what with the close quarters circumstances forced them into. Zelos, in particular, spent the majority of his time draped over Lloyd's shoulders—short of a blood-borne illness, Lloyd couldn't think of any ailment he could have picked up that the redhead wouldn't have. Then again, when had he ever shared blood with Colette? They weren't usually all that close, so how would he have caught it at all? Unless…

There was one thing they had in common… They were both angels. If this was a disease that affected angels only, or the angelic transformation weakened their bodies somehow…

No, Lloyd shook his head at that last. The transformation only strengthened their bodies in every way, now that the negative aspects were restrained by their Keycrests. So it must be a sickness that only affected angels…

He voiced this theory to Colette, whose eyes widened even further with the revelation.

"…I think you're right," she nodded slowly. Some tension drained from her body. "So the others are safe. Good."

"We should keep an eye on Presea, though," Lloyd mused. "She's got a _kind_ of modified Exsphere… it might be enough."

"Yes; we need to be careful," Colette agreed. "You might catch it again, too."

"Maybe it's like chicken pox," Lloyd shrugged. "Once a lifetime."

"I really hope so…"

They sat in silence for quite a while, watching the stars. Lloyd took the opportunity to disentangle a blanket from the stack of bedding and wrap it snugly around his shoulders. Colette, he noticed, was shivering.

"…Come on," he eventually said. "You should go back. It's late, and you're cold. The others should be asleep by now, right?"

"No," Colette shook her head, looking surprised. "Of course not. They were still talking about… it all… when I left."

"Really?" Lloyd mirrored her expression. He hadn't thought they'd take more than ten or fifteen minutes to decide to throw him out. Against his better judgment, he tentatively inquired, "…What do Raine and Regal think…?"

"I don't know," she shook her head. "They've been whispering with Sheena and Zelos for a while. Genis was mad; he said they should listen to him because you're his friend, too, but the Professor told him he was just a child and decisions had to be made for the greater good of the group."

"Oh," Lloyd stated. It was all he could say. A few seconds later, he came up with, "…Goodnight."

"Goodnight, Lloyd. I'm sure it will be all right," the cheerful angel told him. Lloyd looked away as her wings flashed into being behind her to avoid being blinded. They were very bright this close up. With a final nod and encouraging smile, the Chosen of Sylvarant launched herself into space. She vanished beneath the lip, soaring back into view a moment later, already several yards away. Lloyd watched the little pink firefly bob away into the distance, shrinking as it went, until it zoomed downward suddenly and was lost among the dark hulks of other cliffs.

Dawn came. Seven out of eight Regeneration Group members came tramping down the road out of Asgard. Every face was grim—not a hint of a smile to be seen among them. A single figure waited for them in the center of the road, a sloppily folded mess at his feet. His jacket was tied around his waist, allowing his wings to half-unfold behind him, relishing the freedom and slight breeze. The smallest of the group of seven flinched at the sight.

The seven came to a halt, just far enough away for the air to remain tense, but not far enough to seem confrontational. The winged boy folded his arms and waited, looking resigned. The silver-haired woman stepped forward.

"Lloyd, we've discussed the situation, and we've come to a decision," Raine took a deep breath. "You obviously have nothing to do with Cruxis. You've only been a help to us in the past. As we have said to Regal: your life is your business."

"So…" a bewildered look spread across Lloyd's face, quickly chased away by dawning joy, "…you mean I can stay?!"

"Yes," Raine nodded, hiding a slight smile. She sobered almost immediately. "But there is one condition."

"…Yes…?" Lloyd's joy vanished as quickly as it had come, a wary look replacing it.

"Since your actions have all but admitted you to be a pathological liar…"

"A what?" Lloyd interrupted. Raine sighed.

"Pathological: evidencing a mentally disturbed condition," she recited. "It means that you lie habitually—reflexively. It is considered a disease in some cases." Lloyd flinched and lowered his eyes. _Mentally disturbed…_

"…Oh," Lloyd kept his eyes on the ground. Diseased. Disturbed. Of course. He'd known that.

…It still hurt.

_Why does it still hurt…?_

"In any case, the condition is this: since you are clearly used to lying, you must tell me anything else you have been hiding that may be significant to our journey," the half-elf healer folded her arms. "Well…?"

Lloyd thought. Well. He'd almost expected this, really. It was only logical, after all. And maybe he was proving her point, but his mind immediately flew to how he could get out of this. Sheena didn't seem to have told them, nor had Zelos. Both were watching grimly, tight-lipped, leaving the choice to him.

There was one thing he absolutely couldn't tell them. He just couldn't. He didn't care if it made him diseased, or mentally disturbed, or whatever.

But there were some other things…

"…You've been wondering why Kratos helped me," Lloyd eventually glanced away. When he looked back, Sheena was smiling, her face alight with pride.

"Yes. Do you know why?" Raine was using her healer-teacher-voice. The one that soothed injured patients until they told her where it hurt, or reassured crying children on the playground. The one you used when talking to someone dangerous. _Mentally disturbed._ Lloyd soldiered on.

"I do. It's because… I'm his son," the angel blurted it out. Genis and Colette let out twin gasps of shock. Regal and Presea glanced at each other with incomprehension. Raine nodded, looking only slightly surprised. Lloyd noticed. "You knew," he accused.

"I had my suspicions," she admitted. "Though I was thinking 'uncle' or 'older brother'. He looks too young to be your father…"

"He's an angel," Lloyd shrugged. "He'll probably look that way forever."

"Yes," Raine agreed.

"Kr-Kratos is your _dad_?! But you didn't…! He wasn't…!" Genis tried unsuccessfully to vocalize his disbelief. "You're a drifting _thief_!"

"I didn't know myself until… Palmacosta," Lloyd said.

"He saved you," Colette remembered softly. "And the way Svafnir reacted that time in the Ranch…"

"Yeah," Lloyd confirmed, nodding. His face twisted. "He told me that my mom turned into a monster, like Marble and Clara, because of an experiment Kvar put on her called the Angelus Project. My Exsphere. Kratos… killed her. I fell off a cliff, and he lost me."

"Wait, when did he tell you?" Genis protested with a frown. "You weren't in Luin then…"

"Later," Lloyd lied. "When Svafnir and I were… caught… _he_ was why we… I… escaped."

"Oh," Genis looked down and asked no more questions. Raine seemed to come to a decision.

"That is helpful. Thank you, Lloyd. Anything else?"

"Nothing important," Lloyd lied again. The woman nodded.

"Well, in that case, we should be off. We still have to make a pact with the Summon Spirit of Light… considering that we do not know where Aska is, however, we have decided that it would be best to return to Tethe'alla for now and make pacts with the Summon Spirits there. Let's not delay."

"Yeah, all right," Lloyd nodded, a grin creeping over his face. He scooped up the discarded bedding and ran over to fall in step beside the others. In short order, everything was back where it should be, and the Regeneration Group—whole once more—was on its way to the next Summon Spirit.

Lloyd fell back to walk beside Genis, who was trudging along at the back with his head lowered and his face downcast. Lloyd looked at him for a few moments before returning his gaze to Regal's back in front of them.

"You know… I wasn't being entirely truthful when I said I had _nothing_ else to tell you," he spoke without looking at his friend, though the smile was obvious in his voice. Genis glanced up, half-wary and half-resigned, and altogether too tired to be upset anymore. He'd been upset enough for a lifetime.

"What is it?"

"You remember that time I was almost convicted?" Lloyd turned an impish smile on Genis. An answering grin—subdued, but there—split the half-elf's face as he remembered. "You see, it all started one day in Izoold…"

Lloyd had always been able to cheer Genis up, whether he wanted to or not.

And Genis really wasn't sure if he should hate him for it.


	33. Connected

**_Edit: Aina Riddle has reminded me that in deleting my author's note, I have made it impossible for you to leave a signed review for this chapter. I apologize. Thank you for telling me, Aina. Unfortunately, if I add another A/N chapter for you to leave a signed review on, the cycle will continue until the fic is done. Therefore, I must ask you to either leave an anonymous review or—if you really want me to reply—a PM. I apologize again for all the trouble._**

**Kitty: O.O -****hugs you all****- I honestly cannot thank you enough. Really, you are all so amazing I don't even know what to say! All the support I've been getting… It did so much to help me cheer up. Thank you. This chapter is for you.**

**Zelos: Aren't they all?**

**Genis: Shut up, she's being sentimental. Now, updates will be even slower than usual, but YearoftheKitty has no intention to stop this fic till it's over. Even if she'll never own Tales of Symphonia.**

**Zelos: Oh, yeah, and you might notice that she's added scene breaks. She only just realized they weren't showing up in the story, so she's hoping these ones will. She apologizes for any confusion.**

**Kitty: Thank you all again and again! Enjoy!**

o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o

**Chapter Thirty-Three**

**Connected**

"_Time together is just never quite enough._

_(When you and I are alone, I've never felt so at home.)_

_What will it take to make or break this hint of love?_

_(We need time, only time.)_

_When we're apart, what ever are you thinking of?_

_(If this is what I call home, why does it feel so alone?)_

_So tell me, darling, do you wish we'd fall in love?_

_(All the time, all the time.)'"_

—_Owl City, 'Saltwater Room'_

By the end of the day of Lloyd's reintroduction to the group, the brunet angel fell asleep in his bedroll with Gnome's ruby clutched in his fist and the nagging fear that he might have to choose between Zelos, Sheena, Presea, and Regal and Raine, Genis, and Colette.

By the end of the second day (Celsius's sapphire in hand), Lloyd watched in horror along with the others as the largest bolt of thunder any of them had ever seen dropped out of the sky where, according to Presea's heart-wrenching gasp, Ozette was located. The group pushed on through the night to reach the town, the better part of their weariness soothed away by a combination of Raine's healing and Presea's desperation, which the close-knit group felt as their own. They arrived at Ozette just as the gray light of dawn was creeping over the edge of Tethe'alla, bathing everything in stark, unsympathetic colors.

Or, rather, they arrived at where Ozette used to be.

The smell of smoke hung heavy and rancid in the air, overlaid by other, even less pleasant smells. The ground was dotted with patches that had glazed over into rough glass. The air was still charged with enough electricity that the hairs on Lloyd's arms stood straight out, and the _electricity_ was charged with enough mana to make him queasy even now that his angel transformation was long over. And that was on top of the stench of burning flesh.

Lloyd was somewhat gratified, even as he puked up his insides in a nearby bush, to see that even stoic Regal looked fairly nauseous. Presea had long run off and out of sight through the smoldering town, her face frantic. Regal and Sheena had gone off in pursuit. Genis had started to help, but had been brought up short by the same problem that had forestalled Lloyd. He was probably thinking the same thing as the brunet. _Iselia, Palmacosta, Luin, Ozette…_ A rapidly-growing list of all the towns they had failed to save.

When Lloyd staggered out of the bushes, he immediately struck out for the direction the others had disappeared to. They had to look for survivors. Surely the entire town hadn't been killed… _Surely_…

Lloyd's boot slipped on a patch of slightly smoother glass. He found himself steadied by a strong arm around his shoulders. The burning-meat-mana-smoke reek drew back slightly, leaving Lloyd enveloped by cool lavender.

"Bud, if it's this bad for you, you shouldn't push yourself…" Zelos said quietly. Lloyd couldn't even care that Zelos was showing concern for him. He just shook his head stubbornly.

"I have to look for survivors…" Because there _had_ to be survivors…

"The others—" Zelos was cut off by a sudden shout from behind them.

"_Everyone, come quick! I found someone!"_ It was Genis's voice. Lloyd pushed away from Zelos and took off as quickly as his feet could take him. He could hear the swordsman right behind him. They both arrived at the same time as the others, finding the young half-elf kneeling by the wreckage of a house. There were tears on his face, and he looked almost manically desperate.

"He's trapped! You have to get him out!" Genis pleaded to Regal—who was clearly the most physically capable one of them. The man nodded and bent down to slot his hands under the collapsed and smoldering roofbeam that Genis indicated. It wasn't abnormally large or heavy, and Regal lifted it with ease. Zelos—the second strongest one—shoved his arms into the space and gripped cloth, hauling the limp figure out from under the beam. Regal allowed it to fall with a shower of sparks.

"Healing Stream," Raine intoned over the body. It was a child around Genis's age, wearing clothes very similar to Colette's, with long, yellow hair (though not nearly as long as Colette's). Lloyd couldn't say for sure whether it was a boy or a girl. As the magic took effect, the person's eyes fluttered open, revealing two sapphires dulled by confusion and grogginess. They jolted upright, eyes sharpening in a moment.

"It's okay, you're safe," Colette half-crooned to the frightened boy, seemingly oblivious to the still-burning ruins around her.

"What happened here?" Lloyd interjected. He was honestly afraid to know, but somebody had to ask for poor, deadpan Presea, who seemed to have retreated back into the place in her mind she'd inhabited for so long in the face of her dead home.

"…I don't really know," the boy shook his head after a moment. His voice was light, but husky from smoke inhalation. He coughed and continued. "Suddenly, lightning fell from the sky, and angels attacked the village."

"Angels?" Raine repeated. And then, despite everything, her eyes flicked up to land on Lloyd. The boy flinched visibly and bowed his head. Not out of guilt—he had nothing to do with this! But the accusation was… not comfortable.

"They had wings. Those with wings are angels… right?" the boy wasn't being sarcastic, despite his words. He looked between Raine and Lloyd with wide blue eyes as guileless as anyone the thief had ever seen.

"It must have been the Cruxis," Lloyd pointed out dully, daring to look back up at Raine. She looked almost chastened.

"Of course," she nodded briskly, the expression gone in a moment.

Presea's gauntleted hands balled into fists at her side. "Cruxis… so angels destroyed the village…"

"Presea, are you okay?" Regal took a half-step forward, concerned.

"…I'm fine. But… this unsettling irritation… is this… anger…?" the little girl said the last in seething undertone that everyone except Sheena and Regal could hear. Genis sidled closer to her, daring to put a hand on her shoulder. She bore it with a lack of acknowledgement that the half-elf seemed completely content with.

A cough brought everyone except his attention back to the boy they had rescued. Zelos knelt down beside him and offered a smile.

"I'm impressed you survived," he said. Which was probably intended as a compliment, Lloyd thought with suppressed snort. Zelos continued. "Are you the only survivor? What's your name?"

The boy ran a hand through soot-streaked hair, his eyes wider and more innocent than seemed unintentionally possible. A little boy's rang out with a rasp that belonged to an older man.

"My name is Mithos."

There were no other survivors.

o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o

Two days later, Lloyd watched in frustration as the Papal Knights led by Kuchinawa drew closer. The group had taken a defensive posture around the most vulnerable people in their group.

…Namely, Lloyd and Mithos.

The angel could feel his wings fluffing up in rage behind him, pushing against the confines of his jacket. He didn't even care if Mithos saw it. He was Not Happy again, and this time Zelos was only part of the cause. Okay, yes, he was unarmed, while the Knights were heavily armored and Kuchinawa was a _ninja_. But that didn't mean he should be lumped into the 'helpless' category along with a twelve-year-old boy! Lloyd flitted uselessly from friend to friend, each one with their back to him and holding off a Knight. There was no opening for him.

"Stay back!" Mithos's hand latched onto the collar of Lloyd's jacket, struggling to keep him away from the fighting. "You don't have a weapon! They'll kill you!"

"Let me—!" Lloyd's snarl froze in place as Kuchinawa suddenly lunged past the Knight engaging Sheena and kicked out her knees. Something in his hand flashed downwards.

Kuchinawa's mask sucked inwards in a gasp as his arm was wrenched to the side in the middle of his attack. Two somethings, hard and feathery, battered his body repeatedly, and the ground lurched away from his feet. In a matter of moments, Lloyd was struggling to hold the ninja midair, the soles of his boots level with the tallest stone in the Otherworldly Gate. Down on the ground, Mithos gaped up at the aerial battle, an empty, slightly torn jacket clutched in his hand. Flashes of white wing stood out against the black night sky like slices of moonlight come to life.

The blond half-elf snapped out of it after a moment, shouting and gesturing at the glowing Gate behind him. "Come on, everyone! We've got to go through!" He turned and followed his own advice. Only Genis, Regal, and Presea had enough time to follow him before Lloyd let out a hoarse scream and plummeted from the air. Kuchinawa sprang free and made to run at Sheena. At the last minute, Raine seized the Summoner's arm and yanked her after her into the light of the Otherworldly Gate. They were gone in an instant.

Zelos did likewise with Lloyd. The moment he pulled, however, Lloyd let out another cry of pain that send gooseflesh rippling down every inch of Zelos's body. He didn't falter in towing the boy towards the Gate and safety. Lloyd felt a hand snatch as the tip of his disappearing wing through a haze of pain, just before the whole world dissolved into frost and starlight and nausea and _pain_.

Lloyd staggered out of the Gate and immediately collapsed to his knees. He felt his arms shaking and vaguely wondered if he was going into shock. Zelos certainly thought so, for he gripped the boy's upper arms and shook him a little.

"Bud, what's wrong? Come on, Lloyd, talk to me. Where are you hurt?"

"My shoulder…" Lloyd tried to move his wing, feeling a sickening flare of pain that obliterated all thoughts for a moment. Zelos sucked in a breath.

A dagger. It was a dagger, buried up to the hilt in the joint where Lloyd's wing joined his shoulder blade. Blood seeped down between white feathers, creating a macabre spider's web of color. Zelos had to swallow, feeling a little ill not only at the sight, but at the thought of exactly how much that must _hurt_. His voice, when it emerged, was carefully measured, if a little hoarse.

"I'll have to pull it out, bud. Raine's right here; she can help you, but this has to come out first. On the count of three, okay?" he gripped Lloyd's wing in his left hand and shifted his foot forward to plant it on the boy's hand, trying to keep him from lashing out. Lloyd nodded shakily and grunted when Zelos's free hand came in contact with the dagger's handle. Without counting, Zelos jerked it free, expecting Lloyd to spasm and scream again.

Well, he did spasm, and he did scream. But the scream was not wordless. "Healing Stream!" Lloyd gasped out. Cool green mana wrapped shawl-like around his shoulder, sinking into the skin. Lloyd tilted forward, his fall arrested when his forehead thumped right into Zelos's shoulder. Both young men held that position for a few minutes, unmoving save for Lloyd's ragged pants.

"…Genis? Raine?" Mithos's voice piped up, reedy with shock and confusion. "What is going on…? Is… Is he really…?"

"Yeah, he's really," Genis's voice was a sulky grumble.

"Don't worry, he's not with Cruxis," Raine reassured the boy. "Though I don't recall being told you could use magic, Lloyd…"

Lloyd lifted his head from Zelos's shoulder to glare past the Chosen at the half-elf woman. "I didn't tell you because I figured you knew! Angels use magic. I didn't lie on purpose."

"Hmm," Raine hummed as if unconvinced, but let the matter slide.

"You okay to stand, bud?" Zelos asked, helping Lloyd to his feet despite his assurances. For the first time, Lloyd got a good look at his surroundings. Brown fields rolled out in all directions, to meet brown forests that continued to roll. Up above, the sun hung coldly in a pale white sky. The wind carried the chill of frost on it. The last time he had seen this place, the sun had blazed out of a bright blue sky above green fields ringing with birdsong and swept by warm winds. Even so, it was unmistakable, as was the silhouette on the horizon.

"Palmacosta!" he gasped. "We're on the outskirts of Palmacosta!"

"We're back in Sylvarant?" Colette echoed, also looking around.

"…The mana level seems to have risen, but it's definitely Sylvarant," Genis confirmed. Zelos let go of Lloyd's arms, placing his hands on his lower back and leaning his shoulders backwards, cracking his spine. He laughed loudly.

"Phew, man I never thought I'd wind up doing something like _that_!" he announced, referring to the odd trip. His show of cheeriness seemed to break the ice, and the Regeneration Group went into a flurry of planning and debating. It was eventually decided that they would check on the Desians after dropping Mithos off with Neil in Palmacosta. Lloyd's fists clenched reflexively at the thought of returning, but he said nothing. It was out of his hands. Mithos gave him his jacket back, which he buttoned up to his chin, and they continued on their way.

It was a novel experience to walk through Palmacosta in near complete anonymity. The only stares and whispers he was subjected to were directed towards the size of their eight man army (plus guest) marching down the main boulevard, and the occasional person recognized Colette. But nobody recognized Lloyd. He hadn't been in Palmacosta as a human for years. Well, he had been a human briefly on his last visit, but even so, he was unrecognizable now that his hair was so much longer and his clothes so much better. (And this time, there were no statues to compare him to.)

Lloyd hesitated on the threshold of the Governor-General's office, adjusting his eyes from the harsh winter light outside to the darker indoors. When his eyes cleared, he could see a familiar head bent over the desk at the far end of the room. The head rose at the sound of so many footsteps. Neil's face went from confusion to cheer in half a second flat.

"Chosen One! How is the journey to release the Seals going?" he greeted them happily. Those words struck Colette (as well as the rest of the team) dumb, freezing them in their tracks. Lloyd slid to the front of the group.

"Everything's going well," he answered easily. Neil's face went back to confused for a moment before shifting to thoughtful.

"Nix, isn't it? It's been quite a while. I didn't know you were traveling with the Chosen. I'm glad to see that you're still all in one piece."

"Yeah, well," Lloyd shrugged. "It's Lloyd now. Anyway, we were wondering if you could take care of him for a while." He jerked his thumb at Mithos, who was watching the proceedings with interest. Neil followed the gesture with his eyes.

"Hmm? I certainly don't mind, but who is he?" he asked.

Raine had by now recovered from the shock of not having a cover story ready. "He's traveling with us for the moment, but we're heading to an area that's too dangerous for him." The words affected Neil drastically.

"Are you heading for the Palmacosta Ranch?!" he exclaimed in disbelief. Eight faces simultaneously adopted identical furrowed brows.

"What are you talking about? That was destroyed," Genis spoke up.

"Oh, you're not?" Neil's face fell into an expression somewhere between relieved and disappointed. "We've recently received reports that Desians are wandering inside the ruins of the ranch. We've increased our security."

"But Magnius is dead…" Colette trailed off uncomfortably, shuddering at the memory. Lloyd winced, too. That was probably the messiest death the poor, naïve girl had ever witnessed. She'd been so close that the blood had gotten on her white dress. But as gruesome as decapitations were, they solidly assured one that the recipient would not be returning in a few months. Lloyd dropped to the rear of the group while the others once again launched into a discussion on strategy.

"Aren't you going to say anything?" Mithos's voice broke him out of his thoughts. He looked down and shook his head, face blank.

"No. I don't get a say in what we do."

"They don't let you? I can't believe that…" the blond half-elf asserted. Lloyd smiled ruefully.

"It's more like I don't let me." At the confused look, Lloyd elaborated. "I've caused a lot of trouble for them. I've done a lot of things that broke their trust in me. Wherever they decide to go, I'll follow. Anywhere. Besides," he added with a laugh, "I'm no good at strategies. I can't even spell my own name." No matter how much Zelos explained it, Lloyd just couldn't understand why there were apparently two Ls in his name, or where the heck the Y went. Eventually, his teacher had proclaimed 'Loid' to be 'as good as they were going to get'.

Mithos cracked a small smile. He obviously didn't understand, but Lloyd wasn't explaining any more. It wouldn't do to drag another innocent kid into the snarled, matted web he was weaving. It was why they were leaving him here in the first place, wasn't it?

The group came to the decision that they would investigate the gutted Ranch and began to troop out the doors. Lloyd turned to follow, but was forestalled by Neil's voice.

"Nix. I don't know if they've told you, but the Governor-General…"

"I know," Lloyd cut him off sharply, his hands fisting once more. There was an awkward pause. "His name is Dorr," Lloyd finally spoke. "The Governor-General is you now. You'd better do a better job than he did."

"Nix, I would never…!" Neil began to say. He stopped and tried again. "You shouldn't…" He stopped again.

"You _still_ admire him," Lloyd sighed bitterly. "Whatever. Look up to whoever you want. All I care about is Palmacosta. This place… is my home. I won't let anyone hurt it. And if I have to fight you with fang and fist to defend it, I will. Do you understand me?"

Neil gulped and nodded. Lloyd stalked towards the door, ending the conversation. He didn't see the twinkling blue eyes fixed on his back as he stepped out into the cold sunshine.

He did feel it when Zelos's arm dropped over his shoulders, and he winced. His joint was still tender.

"Catching up, hmmm?" the redhead drawled.

"Sure," Lloyd shrugged. "Call it that." He winced as the arm shifted. "Could you…" he stopped. No, he was not about to push Zelos away. It didn't hurt badly.

"I've been meaning to ask about that," the Chosen said, as if he had finished his sentence. He didn't move. "What exactly was going through your head when you flew off with a warrior from Mizuho bent on our assassinations?"

"What exactly?"

"What exactly."

"'Holy Spirits, if Mithos has ripped my jacket, I'm going to break his pretty-boy nose'."

That stopped Zelos. He stepped in front of Lloyd and shifted his hands to the brunet's shoulders, leaning forward with blazing eyes.

"I'm _serious_, bud," he hissed. "Why would you do that? You're unarmed!"

"I'm not helpless," Lloyd snapped, glaring. "And he was going to stab Sheena!"

"So Sheena's life is more important than yours?" Zelos pressed. Lloyd blinked blankly.

"…Of course it is." He didn't quite understand the question.

"How can you say that? Why would you think that?" One of Zelos's hands left Lloyd's shoulder to twine itself through crimson locks, as if Zelos were physically holding himself back from doing Lloyd bodily harm. Lloyd shrugged, still clueless.

"She… just is."

"And the others? Would you kill yourself for all of them, too?" Zelos's eyes slid shut. He looked to be in some kind of pain. Lloyd's cluelessness was now tinged with a kind of desperation. What was he saying wrong?

"Of course I would! You don't even have to ask," he added. He frowned. "I don't get what you're upset about, Zelos," he admitted. "Don't friends protect friends?"

"They do, when it doesn't kill them to," Zelos laughed shortly and humorlessly. His eyes stayed shut, his hand firmly anchored in his hair. "Not everyone is suicidal, you know. What makes your life less valuable than Sheena's?"

Lloyd didn't have to think. "She's a Summoner. She's the next village chief. She still has to settle the score with Kuchinawa." Zelos's eyes opened at this, looking almost stricken.

"…And what about you?"

"What about me?" Lloyd spread his arms, bewildered. "Zelos, what am I? I'm a lying, mentally disturbed ex-criminal with mediocre fighting skills, horrible magic skills, no intelligence to speak of, no family who cares about me, and no purpose in life. Who in the world would choose me over Sheena?"

Zelos choked, conflict running across his face. He wanted to say 'me'. He _really_ wanted to say 'me'. More than anything. But he couldn't. Sheena was the closest thing he had to a friend. She was the only one he would regret stabbing in the back. But… who would he really pick in that situation? He'd known Sheena much better—wouldn't it hurt less to lose Lloyd? Of course it would. And if Zelos had a single goal in life, it was to avoid pain.

…So why was he hesitating?

_Because I want to avoid Lloyd's pain, too…_

"See?" Lloyd said sadly. "Sheena, every time. We should hurry. They're leaving us behi—Zelos?!" The brunet yelped in shock as Zelos's forehead came down on his shoulder in a reversal of their positions just hours earlier.

"…Bud," he mumbled into the boy's shoulder. "You're my best friend. You know that, right? You have to be…" _Because if this 'crush' is what I think it is, I really don't know what I'm going to do…_

"Z-Zelos," Lloyd's face was on fire, and he was eternally grateful that Zelos couldn't see it from where he was. "I… you're my best friend, too." And of the two of them, he was the one who admitted the lie to himself. Zelos had been one of his best friends, once. Before. And it was okay to l… to admire him, because friends did that. As long as that other stuff wasn't there, it was okay.

And then Lloyd had realized that the other stuff was right there in front of him. And it wasn't okay anymore.

"Make me a promise, Lloyd," Zelos said.

"…Okay," Lloyd nodded.

"Never, ever die for me."

"…I promise, Zelos. I won't die for you."

Lloyd had never uttered a blacker lie in his life. And he could only hope that Zelos didn't know it. Because right now, even now, he was happier than he had been in a long, long time, enfolded in the wonderful smell of lavender.

What was one more lie on the pile, anyway? He wouldn't live long enough for it to come back to bite him with this thing eating away at his body. And even if he did, he wouldn't regret it for a moment.

o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o

"Hey, excuse me!" Lloyd caught the arm of a passing man in a white lab coat. He spoke in an undertone, trying to block out the sounds of his friends talking with the other scientists about getting a blue candle. "Do you know anything about Exspheres?"

"I know a bit," the man adjusted his glasses. "Why?"

"I wanted to know if you knew anything about… um," Lloyd frowned. He'd spent much of the week since his return to Palmacosta trying to remember what it was that Kratos had called it. "Chronus… Angel… Look, it's some kind of Exphere disease, alright?"

The scientist lapsed into bemused silence for a moment before his eyes lit up. "Oh! You must be talking about Chronic Angelus Crystallus Innoficium!"

"Yeah, that," Lloyd nodded, relieved. "What do you know about it?"

"Only that it's an exceedingly rare disease that affects some Chosen," the researcher shrugged. "We think it might have to do with rejection of the Cruxis Crystal but other than that…"

"Oh… I see." A frown slowly trickled down across Lloyd's face. "Do you have any idea… I mean, can you tell if it's…"

The man took pity on Lloyd. "In almost all of our records, Chronic Angelus Crystallus Innoficium is fatal."

Lloyd felt like he'd been punched in the gut. Repeatedly. "…How long…?" he managed to get out. The man's face had fallen into a kind of odd pity, though he didn't understand what was affecting the boy so.

"I don't know. Depending on how rapidly it spreads… Probably a bit less than a year from the time it appears."

"Oh…" Lloyd drew away and turned back to his friends without thanking the man (who shrugged and continued on his way behind him).

He had… less than a year to live. He and Colette did. The shock was… unlike anything he had ever experienced. So he'd been expecting something like that. He had _expected_ it to be fatal! But then, he'd expected to be rejected by his friends, too. And it still hurt like new every time. This was different, anyway. You couldn't just hear that you were going to die and keep going like…

…like Colette did…

Zelos was a little startled when he felt something warm against his side. He glanced over, to be met by a mess of chocolate-colored strands. Cautiously, (he didn't think Lloyd had _ever_ been the one to initiate contact) he reached out to wrap his arm around the boy's shoulders. Neither spoke. Zelos wasn't sure what was going on, but he didn't really have to know right now. He'd find out later. Lloyd told him everything, after all. He was somewhat smug to be able to claim the title of the only person in the worlds whom Lloyd was not lying to.

Little did he know. Lloyd, for his part, was trying to compose himself, inhaling deeply of the calming lavender around him. He had to stay strong. He had to be like Colette, and face the inevitable with acceptance.

He leaned further into Zelos's side. He'd compose himself in a minute. He deserved a minute to be selfish, didn't he? Well, he was going to either way. He hadn't exactly been a shining example of selflessness in the past, anyway. He'd be selfish—he'd be horrified, angry, sad, and regretful for now. And in a little while… he'd have to tell Colette.

_Well, Colette, we saved your life and your soul at no cost to the worlds! Oh, and that fungal disease on your arm? It's killing you slowly. You've got less than a year to live. Have fun writing that will!_

Lloyd felt his chest seize up on a combination morbid laugh and horrified sob. Or maybe it was shock. Yes, he was definitely going into shock. For more reasons than one.

For right there, in the streets of Meltokio, was his father.

_Kratos_.

"Kratos!" Genis exclaimed. The Seraph ignored him. Oddly, his focused interest this time was Presea. Lloyd vaguely thought that maybe he was continuing his 'ignoring' tactic from the last time they'd met.

"I heard that sacred wood only grows in the area near Ozette," he bizarrely stated. "Is that correct?"

Presea nodded uncertainly, just as confused as Lloyd. "Y-yes…"

"Then, does that mean that sacred wood no longer exists?" the man pressed, looking somewhat disappointed. Presea flinched.

"…The wood I cut is stored in the church."

"So that really is all that's left…" Kratos sighed reluctantly. "It seems I have no choice." He turned to go. Lloyd stared at his back, mentally tracing the outline of missing wings. Kratos's wings, or what they symbolized, had kept him alive for a long time, hadn't they? He was obviously older than he looked, at any rate. But that line of thought was just a distraction, stalling what Lloyd really wanted to think about.

He was ignoring Lloyd. As usual, it hurt for no reason that Lloyd could tell. This time, though, it was coupled with a new kind of pain. He was dying. He'd be dead within a year.

And Kratos was walking away from him.

"W-Wait!" Lloyd stepped forward, out of Zelos's embrace. Kratos halted and half-turned, blandly inquisitive. His eyes were narrowed and unwelcoming. Lloyd chickened out. "…Why is Cruxis worried about sacred wood?"

"Because it is necessary," Kratos shrugged. "What other reason could there be?"

"Necessary for what?" Raine snapped.

"I do not feel the need to tell you that right now," Kratos spared her a glance before turning back to Lloyd. "Lloyd… the Summon Spirit pacts you are currently forming… you must stop."

"Huh?" It took Lloyd a moment to remember what Kratos was referring to. His mind was disconnected to the worlds' plight at that moment, too preoccupied by his own. "But why?"

"It is dangerous to engage in activities in which you cannot predict the outcome. It may result into something that you cannot undo," Kratos's tone verged on lecturing. A bit more of Lloyd's mind drifted back to Tethe'alla. The Father Voice. He knew that. He'd heard it a lot, back then.

Ice trickled down Lloyd's spine. He saw himself obliviously pulling on a silver necklace, then watching in horror as it sank into his skin. He saw his hand silhouetted against a bright white sky above Asgard as he contemplated the jewel embedded in it. He relived his body escaping his control, piece by piece, and the agonizing pain in his stomach. He felt his wings burst through his shoulders once more, and watched as the crystal spread across his shoulder.

_It may result in something that you cannot undo…_

"…Maybe it will," Lloyd looked down at his hands. "But if we could predict the future… There are a lot of risks we'd never take, aren't there? And then we'd miss out on the other stuff…"

He was wrestling in a heap of fur and fists with Genis. He was learning to fly with Sheena. He was staring into Zelos's face while everything dripped with rain. He was watching Presea smile softly, and seeing Colette smiling fit to outshine the sun.

"_Be careful!"_

"…So even if we regret it or it turns out badly," Lloyd finished around the lump in his throat, his eyes fierce. "What the hell else can we do, Dad?" Lloyd ignored Genis's gasp behind him, and pretended not to see Sheena's whole face light up softly. He watched as Kratos's eyes slowly widened, almost comically. They narrowed again, slightly, and though he was trying to return to his deadpan stoicism, his face was just that little bit softer.

"…Be patient, son." His hand reached out to rest briefly on Lloyd's hair before retracting. "And don't die." He turned around and walked with slow, measured steps until he was gone from sight. Lloyd watched him go.

"Our enemy… is truly your father…?" Regal said slowly. Zelos scoffed and folded his arms.

"That was some reunion, huh? 'Don't die'. What a stuck-up bastard!"

Lloyd shook his head, trying to will back the tears forcing their way out of his eyes. _Don't die…_

"Hey," Sheena's hand was on his arm abruptly, her amber eyes shining with pride and faith. "Get back up on that cliff, right?"

"I'm trying, Sheena…" Lloyd managed to whisper.

_But the climb might just kill me before the crystal does…_


	34. Devastated

**Kitty: Oh, God. Can I even apologize for this? I'm sorry for taking this long. Really. Thank you all so much for your support as I continue to try and rewrite what I lost… Review replies will re-start now, I promise. I've been considering going back to insert all my disappeared line breaks, so if you get chapter alerts, that's all I'll be changing. Except cutting back on stupid, stupid A/Ns. ^^" I'm kinda embarrassed I made you put up with those… Anyway, I don't own Tales of Symphonia and I hope you all enjoy this chapter despite everything…**

o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o

**Chapter Thirty-Four**

**Devastated**

"_If shame had a face, I think it would kind of look like mine;_

_If it had a home, would it be my eyes?_

_Would you believe me if I said I'm tired of this?_

_Well, here we go now, one more time…"_

—_Lifehouse, 'Sick Cycle Carousel'_

"_W-Wait! Don't do anything bad to my father!"_

"_Why?! He's done bad things to you!"_

"_But…"_

"…_He's still her father. Leave her alone, Genis."_

"_But I don't understand! I can't understand that!"_

"…_I think I understand, a little. When I thought that Remiel might be my father, I was happy that Father had finally come to see me, even thought I knew that the Journey would end in death."_

"_But you didn't know he was lying to you! Lloyd… Kate… you guys know what your dads are doing. Why are you still defending them?!"_

"_I said something… a long time ago. I forgot it until recently. I said that __if your parent can't love you like they should, then nobody can. It's not something anyone else can understand. Nobody could have that bond with you except your parents. And even if you have no obligation to them, and they have none to you, you can't help but want that bond with everything in you. Because if they can't love you, who will? Nobody can love you like a parent except your parents… so you have to keep trying, no matter what. You just can't help it."_

"_Yes… exactly… Excuse me, I need to think for a while… Goodbye. And thank you."_

"_This is… sad. Why do things wind up like this?"_

"_Colette…"_

o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o

"…_you are asking the _wrong_ guy."_

Lloyd was honestly afraid that Sheena was going to explode with pride over the course of the next few days. His conversations with Kratos and with Kate both elicited wordless, crushing bear hugs the moment they were over. Every time he spoke easily with Genis (no matter how uneasy the little half-elf was), her smile became blinding.

That wasn't to say that it was deserved. Lloyd felt even more and more pathological every time she threw a grin his way. He wasn't _totally_ acting… He really had acknowledged that pretending Kratos wasn't his father was stupid. The evidence was right there in the shape (singular) of their faces, even if their actions hadn't spoken volumes towards that fact on their own. He could remember every good time they'd shared with half as much bitterness. Oh, he was still mad. He was still so furious that he couldn't even sit still when he thought about it, too full of pent-up, undirected energy. So furious that he would do almost anything to make the sick, hot flush in his chest _go away_ for good.

But he loved him too. And that was _really_ confusing.

The fact of the matter was that Lloyd was preparing to die. He carefully tried to regain Genis's tentative trust, so that there would be no regrets there in a year's time. He took steps towards maybe, someday, possibly _considering_ forgiving Kratos for the same reason. And he hoped he'd made Kratos believe he'd already forgiven him for that reason as well.

He was doing all of these things, keeping busy. Partly because there was so much left to do before the year was out, and partly because it kept him from dwelling on why exactly he had such a short time limit—or at least, dwelling on it long enough to crack his bone-deep deception of composure and even happiness. He couldn't lose it now. They couldn't know yet.

Speaking of which… even five days later, as he watched Presea admit that hatred bred nothing, he hadn't told Colette she only had a year as well. It would be cruel to tell her so late… But if he told her, her reaction would unhinge him, he just knew it. No matter how she took it, he would feel her pain as his own. And he couldn't lose it now!

He still hadn't told her six days after rescuing Kate, too preoccupied with the pain in his chest concealed beneath a veneer of support as he watched Genis offer Presea's Linkite ocarina to Mithos. The two laughed together like childhood friends, and shared a few moments of seriousness as deep as lifelong ones, and Lloyd couldn't deny the pang in his chest as he remembered being Genis's friend. He wondered if the boy was replacing him with Mithos the way he had replaced 'Svafnir' with 'Lloyd' before. He wondered if he realized he was doing it. And he regretted that a year might not be nearly enough time to redeem himself in the half-elf's eyes.

He still hadn't told her a week later, as the group strode through the Tower of Mana towards where Luna and Aska were waiting. Luna… the first Summon Spirit Lloyd had ever seen. The last one. The amethyst, the ruby, the sapphire, the opal, the garnet, the sardonyx, and the aquamarine were all safely stowed in Sheena's pack, awaiting the final gem, their missing sister, the topaz. It was just moments away now, just on the other side of that blue teleporter a few yards away.

Just as Lloyd was ready to breathe a sigh of relief—_almost done!_—ringing footsteps and a ringing voice forestalled them from a few yards in the other direction.

"_Stop!_"

The Regeneration Group turned as one, gaping at Kratos. The man was the closest to flustered that any of them besides Lloyd had ever seen before. Sweat stood out on his forehead, and his eyes were just wild enough to make him seem even more deadly serious than usual.

"Dad…?" Lloyd was confused by Kratos's presence, but shook his head sharply, remembering the focus of their last few encounters. "Don't get in our way."

"Hear me out!" Kratos half-ordered, the other half enough to keep any of the Group from so much as turning back to the teleporter. "The Derris-Kharlan core-system just finished calculating its answer. If you form the pact with the Summon Spirit, the protection around the Great Seed will be completely lost!"

"And that's exactly what we desire!"

Kratos jerked to the side just as a sphere of blue lightning shot through where his torso had been. The ends of his hair stirred a bit. Lloyd's hand shot down to his stomach in remembered pain, even as he saw Yuan appear and reminded himself that Yuan was on their side. …At the moment.

Kratos wasn't fazed by the near miss. Even though Lloyd had nothing to do with it this time, Kratos's progression of emotion was similar to the other time he had almost been hit by a ball of lightning. By which Lloyd meant that Kratos was _furious_.

"Don't you understand?!" he bellowed at Yuan. "What you're hoping for will not happen!"

"Silence!" Yuan matched his volume. "Do you think we'll pass up this opportunity?" Another ball of lightning began to charge in his palm. The Renegade leader turned to the frozen Regeneration Group. "Summoner! Leave him to me! Go, now! Form the pact with the Summon Spirit of Light!"

"R-Right!" Sheena nodded. As if some sort of spell had been broken, all eight of them bolted for the teleporter. The sounds of lightning and the slither of steel followed Lloyd through the haze of blue light that deposited them atop the Tower. The winter wind slid insidiously between the grouped bodies. Not a one of them noticed, lingering a moment and staring at the altar despite the urgency of the situation. A sort of determined awe fell over them like a blanket.

"This is it," Lloyd spoke. "The protection around the Great Seed will finally fall after this pact."

"We're all counting on you, Sheena!" Colette chirped, bestowing upon the Summoner the brightest, most encouraging smile she was capable of mustering. The Mizuhoan didn't falter. She smiled back a bit, lifted her fist and nodded.

"You got it!" The Group made its way towards the altar. Golden light bloomed, as if the harvest moon was rising right there atop the Tower. Instead, the same beautiful woman seated upon a slice of crescent moon regarded the congregation with sleepy eyes.

"Where is Aska?" she asked slowly.

"He'll come," Sheena assured her. "He promised."

"I see…" A small smile curved Luna's lips. "Then all is well. I shall test thine worthiness to wieldst my power."

o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o

Small green sparks lit up inside of the perfectly translucent Topaz—caused by the effect of the blue light now radiating from the Seal glinting off of the jewel's yellow sides. Fireflies of azure brilliance drifted all around, lighting up purple as they passed behind Colette's wings and tangling in Zelos's hair. Lloyd hissed slightly, his mouth hanging open in sheer awe. It was so beautiful…

The sparks began to coalesce around the altar, which was the only thing keeping Lloyd from humbly suggesting that they quit the Tower. There was a building rumble beneath his boots, and it was safe to assume that this time the quake would be bad enough to shake two whole worlds apart, as if they were nothing more than a pair of burrs stuck to a piece of cloth. Instead, he watched as the light built brighter and brighter and brighter, until it was only blue around the edges and lightning-white in the middle and still it got brighter, until…

The rumbling broke into a roar, adding its voice to the fire-lightning-waterfall tumult as the light crashed upwards into the sky in a pillar of radiance. The ground shook harder than ever, sending the Group crashing to the heaving stone. A screeching noise rose over the bone-rattling rumble, and clouds of dust and splintered wood and leaves erupted in long lines through the forest, creating a web across it.

_What's going on?_ Lloyd felt a chill of panic settle in his stomach. _Is this how the worlds split? No, it can't be! Something's wrong!_

"The Tower is going to collapse!" Raine's thin, tiny voice barely reached Lloyd's ears. He knew it was true. The mortar was crumbling between the stones into a fine powder, and chunks of rock were rising and falling and being ground into gravel all around. A quick scream rang out, stilling Lloyd's heart for just a moment before he saw a glint of pink—dim and washed out by the white-blue brilliance. Colette rose into the air, buffeted by wind and dust and noise, her arms locked around Genis's diminutive form.

Lloyd felt the section of roof he knelt on begin to slide sideways with a screech that shot straight into his teeth. Zelos, Sheena, Raine, Presea, and Regal couldn't fly. They were stuck on the roof as it fell out from beneath them. He tore off his jacket and jerked his wings as quick and hard as he could. The chill wind was still blowing, and with its help, he was airborne in moments. The air was mercifully still. Lloyd swooped through clouds of debris. They had to be nearby. They'd all been standing together when the quake had begun. Had they fallen already?

There! Lloyd reached out and snagged a flash of pink, thinking of Presea or Sheena or…

Zelos twisted in Lloyd's grip, his hands scrabbling for whatever was hauling on his jacket, probably assuming he'd been caught on some protrusion as he fell. Lloyd strained to lift his shifting weight. Angelic strength was all well and good, but unlike Colette, _he_ was at the mercy of physics concerning wing angles and wind speeds and such. It was difficult enough to fly holding Sheena when she was staying _still_.

"Calm down!" he got out in a grunt. Surprisingly, Zelos heard him, and fell immediately limp. Lloyd turned and flew away from the crumbling Tower, meaning to find a relatively stable piece of land to deposit Zelos on before going back for Sheena, Raine, Presea, and Regal.

A flash of silver caught his eye. Lloyd turned and smiled with relief. Spirits bless Regal's level head. The man piloted the rheaird up and away from the Tower, Presea clinging unhappily to his leg. Two more flashes of light announced Kratos's and Yuan's escape from the collapsing building, Sheena and Raine following on their own rheaird soon afterwards.

As soon as he saw they were all safe, Lloyd turned his attention back to the chaos on the land beneath them. The geysers of earth were continuing—of course they were, since from start to finish, the entire escape had only taken a few split seconds—and from this altitude, Lloyd could see that there were long tendrils of _something_ ripping themselves free from the ground.

"Are those… roots…?" he heard Zelos say. Lloyd was too frozen with shock to reply. They were. They were giant roots ripping themselves from the ground! They were all around the base of the Tower, and even beyond that. Lloyd stared in horror. Even as far as his angelically-heightened sight could see, the roots continued to rise from the earth. Did they cover all of Sylvarant…? From east to west, most of what he could see was ocean. To the south, he saw that they went beyond Luin, but he couldn't see if they went all the way to Asgard. As for the north, he could see Palmacosta, but…

Lloyd stiffened. Palmacosta…! The roots were all over it, slashing and striking like enormous snakes. Bright buildings collapsed in moments, and the violent earthquakes sent water pouring through the streets. He was too far away to see the people he knew were being crushed, drowned, trapped, killed… Dust rose, obscuring Lloyd's view.

_Palmacosta…_

_Cacao…!_

"Mom…" Lloyd's eyes were burning with salt and stone dust. He couldn't breathe. Cacao was down there. His mom was down there! All the people who'd ever spat on him or called him a monster, all the people who'd ever looked at him with pity or kindness, all the people he'd ever known by sight _were down there_! "Mom…!"

"Bud, look!" Zelos's arm moved in Lloyd's grasp in an awkward point. Lloyd turned to see the largest root of all rise up above the trees.

But this one wasn't a root. It… was a tree as well. A tree so large that a whole city could rest comfortably within its trunk. It was rising up higher and higher. As it rose, a short glimpse of something glowing—an orb with the silhouette of a woman inside it—could be seen. But then it was hidden again, and the tree's branches spread out like a forest unto themselves, covering the sky. The shaking subsided somewhat, leaving the Tower of Mana wrapped up in a web of roots but still standing.

Lloyd slid from the air. He didn't think he could keep himself up any longer. Zelos hit the ground first, hard, followed by Lloyd, whose legs crumpled beneath him. He stared blankly in the direction of Palmacosta, even as the rest of the Group plus Kratos and Yuan descended around him.

Instead, Zelos turned to them. His haunted expression was replicated on everyone's faces. "Oh my Go…" The Tethe'allan Chosen choked out.

"Is that… the Giant Kharlan Tree…?" Genis spoke up in a wavery voice. Zelos very nearly burst into inappropriate hysterical laughter. Trust the twerp to think of that kind of thing even in a situation like this.

"…That person… I feel like I've met her somewhere before…" Colette murmured to her clasped hands.

"Martel…!" Yuan took a desperate step as if to run to the monstrous Tree, which could be seen even from this height, looming over Sylvarant.

"Martel? That woman about to be consumed by the Tree is Martel?" Raine spoke sharply.

"She reminds me of someone. She reminds me of…" Colette continued to speak softly to her own hands.

"Why would Martel reappear with that giant, grotesque tree?!" Yuan overrode her, turning furiously to Kratos. The red-haired Seraph sighed.

"I was afraid this would happen…" He surveyed the group grimly, frowning when he noticed they were one head short. He looked down. Lloyd was on all fours, clutching his chest and crying. "Lloyd…? Are you all right?"

"Of course he's not!" Zelos stepped between Lloyd and Kratos, using the hem of his coat to hide the brunet's tears from the others. "Didn't you see what happened to Palmacosta?!"

"Palma…?" Kratos paused, realization dawning. "Of course. I had almost forgotten…"

"What did you mean when you said you were afraid this would happen?" Raine cut in brusquely. She felt sorry for Lloyd, but now was not the time to get side-tracked. If that Tree continued to run rampant, all of Sylvarant could suffer the same fate as Palmacosta.

Lloyd wasn't listening anyway. He felt like he had when he'd used his magic for the first time: like a hurricane had opened up inside of him, filling him to the brim with swirling coldness that cut and bit and froze him. He could only hear his own irregular breathing and a slight humming as the others all discussed what was happening and what they should do next. Lloyd only caught a few words now and then, something about Summon Spirits and mana and…

"Then… everyone will die."

_Everyone_. Everyone meant Sheena, and Genis, and Presea, and Colette, and Regal, and Rain. Everyone meant Kratos. Everyone meant Chocolat. Everyone meant _Zelos_.

Oh, and it meant Lloyd, too.

He raised his head a bit to listen to Raine demanding what Yuan intended to do to fix this. It had all been his idea in the first place, after all. Then there was a lot of talk about Summon Spirits. That was a subject Lloyd would usually have loved to listen to, but… not now. Not for a while. He felt, impossible as it seemed, even worse than the time his father had tried to kill him. His mother was dead. All of Palmacosta was now in shambles.

Couldn't he just let the others deal with it?

_"I suppose it makes sense considering your past, even if I do find your lack of responsibility utterly deplorable…"_

_"I didn't notice this cowardice when you threw yourself at Ktugach with your bare teeth."_

…No. No, Spirits curse it, he couldn't. This was partially his fault. His conscience was nowhere near as dead as he'd tried to make it. He had to find some way to stop that thing from devastating another town—killing somebody else's mother—the same way that it had his…

_Iselia, Palmacosta, Luin, Ozette, and now Palmacosta again…_

"What about the yin?"

"Hmm?" Kratos and Raine turned as one, eyebrows in identical arches. Lloyd's voice was tired.

"You said Sylvarant's Spirits were the yang. Then can't we use Tethe'alla's somehow to… cancel them out? Like, hit the Tree with them or something?" He shrugged. "Even I know opposites cancel out."

"Whoa, Lloyd! That's really smart from someone who can't spell his own name," Genis exclaimed in faux-surprise. Lloyd looked down with a wince. The half-elf looked a bit ashamed a moment later, as if he hadn't meant for it to come out as insultingly as it had, glancing quickly at Raine. She wasn't looking. He didn't apologize.

"A clever idea, yes," the Professor agreed softly, her brow creasing in thought. More conversation bothered that Lloyd didn't bother to follow. He'd offered his contribution. What else did they want from him?

_Marble was dead._

_Dorr was dead._

_Kilia was dead._

_Cacao was dead._

_Chocolat…_

…_was not…_

Chocolat wasn't dead. She was suffering somewhere in Iselia Ranch. He hadn't saved her yet, even though he'd promised to. And he had just engineered the death of her mother.

"…I'll go," he pushed himself to his feet, turning to glare at the astonished Group as if it were them holding his adopted sister prisoner.

"What are you saying?! We need to head for the Mana Canon!" Sheena spread clawed hands, her voice incredulous. "I know you're upset right now, but…"

"The rest of you can go," Lloyd looked at his father. "I'm going with Dad to Iselia Ranch. We'll give the signal together."

"Yeah, that'll be _way_ more trustworthy…" Genis grumbled. He subsided under the weight of Kratos's and Zelos's combined glares.

"…Is it about Chocolat?" the Seraph turned to his son, almost gently. Lloyd nodded.

"I promised to save her. I have to tell her… have to tell…" his voice broke. Cacao was dead. Palmacosta was all but gone. He would rescue her from her suffering only to hand her even more. Well, at least he could tell her that he was dying. It wasn't much, but it might make her a little happier knowing that he couldn't cause her any more pain.

"…As much as I hate to say it, Genis does have a point," Raine sighed heavily. Lloyd was so numb that he didn't even feel the sting of her next accusation. "Kratos is our enemy, and you are his son, Lloyd. Not to mention…"

"My pathology," Lloyd finished.

"…I can't pretend we aren't on opposite sides," Kratos said after a moment. "But Lloyd is your companion, is he not?"

"He's a liar," Genis folded his arms. "We couldn't trust the signal if it came from him."

"I told you so," Lloyd murmured tiredly to Kratos. "They know about my wings, and now they hate me." The Seraph frowned but did not answer.

"We will all go," Raine put a firm end to the discussion. "Sheena, you and the Renegades can take care of the Mana Canon, while the rest of us go with Kratos to Iselia." There was a general nod of agreement.

"All right. We'll leave it to you, then. Don't let us down," Yuan nodded sharply once to Kratos and then to Raine before turning in a swirl of cape and striding away. The Regeneration Group hesitated a moment before bringing out various rheairds and climbing aboard. Genis and Presea. Raine and Colette. Regal and a rather reluctant Zelos. Lloyd and Kratos both unfurled their wings. The odd flock of vehicles and beings took to the skies, heading southwest. It would take a day and a half, going as fast as they could, to reach Iselia. Lloyd could only hope that the Kharlan Tree wouldn't level another town in that time.

"Look at me, Dad," he breathed wryly, the wind all but drowning the words. "I'm not running anymore. Happy?"

"I'm sorry, Lloyd," Kratos, up ahead, breathed to the wind. Lloyd didn't want his apology, whatever it was for. He wanted to kill some Desians, rescue his sister, and then have a long, long talk with Sheena and Zelos. He'd find a way to fix this broken, messed-up world, like he had set out to do nearly half a year ago.

Yeah.

That sounded good.


	35. Forgiven?

**Zelos: Jeez, I knew I was popular with the ladies, but **_**man**_**! Never fear, dear readers, the muses are here!**

**Genis: Hush up and let Kitty talk.**

**Kitty: Thanks, guys; Today we are here to celebrate the 200****th**** review for this fic! Thank you all soso much, and especially to Rydia Asuka! You were actually the 202****nd****, but Athina Dark-Angel of Death didn't reply in time, and SilverMoon888 won last time. (Sorry, Silver, I have to spread the love!) You've got a week to tell me what pairing/genre/subject you want, and I'll write it for ya. **

**Genis: Anonymous reviewer Aittla asked how to pronounce Svafnir—It's suh-VAF-nur: suh rhymes with the, vaf rhymes with laugh, and nur rhymes with fur. I wouldn't expect native English speakers to know it, either, since it's a Nordic word.**

**Kitty: Yes, in fact. Svafnir was the name of one of a group of snakes who spent their lives gnawing through the roots of the World Tree—Yggdrasill. Symbolism, anyone?**

**Zelos: But enough of that! On with the fic! Enjoy, hunnies! ~_^ ~ 3**

o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o

**Chapter Thirty-Five**

**Forgiven?**

"_You said it for my sake,_

_That you thought I'd lost my way_

_When I was dead wrong all along;_

_You said it for my sake,_

_That I would not lose my way._

_Did I really lose my way?_

_Or are you afraid?"_

—_The Fray, 'Dead Wrong'_

Lloyd's boots echoed loudly on the stone catwalk, overpowering Colette's lighter taps. The others had dropped behind, unable to keep up with the young angels. Lloyd himself was a bit ahead of the Chosen, desperation lending his feet wings. They were just around this corner. He knew that the cells were just around that corner! _Almost there…_

He and Colette rounded the corner as one, and skidded to a dead halt as one as well. Just ahead, two Desians were using their whips to 'escort' a man in tattered gray clothes and a girl in an incongruously yellow dress down the hall. The movement caught the girl's eye. She turned away from her fellow prisoner and gasped loudly.

"Chosen One!"

"Chocolat!" Lloyd shouted at almost the same time. He ignored the stupid stab in his chest at his adopted sister's lack of acknowledgment. She hated him. He had to remember that. But later. Right now he'd save her, whether she wanted him to or not.

The Desians left the poor man to turn towards the source of the disturbance. Their faces darkened.

"Don't move! So you're the intruders!" one shouted. His voice echoed as Lloyd's boots had in the oddly quiet cell block. Lloyd took that moment to notice that the place was completely deserted.

"The host bodies made a break for it when they heard you were here! You'll pay for this!" the other, closer, Desian growled, as if in explanation. Lloyd's chest tightened with fury. Host bodies. _Bodies_. That's all they were to these people. All Chocolat, Marble, Presea, and even Lloyd himself was to these stupid, rotten, half-humans.

Lloyd paused in shock at his own thought. That word wasn't right. It didn't fuel his hatred at all. It wasn't an insult anymore. _When did…?_

A Desian's fist slamming into his nose brought Lloyd back to the here and now. Lloyd was knocked off his feet, his butt hitting stone. Hard. He could hear twin cries from Chocolat and Colette as the Chosen—distracted by Lloyd's fall—joined him on the floor. Lloyd struggled to get his feet under him, but a kick to the ribs sent him sprawling once more. Another kept him down. Then another.

And then the Desian made a soft choking noise, clawing at a thick red snake that had suddenly appeared around his neck. Lloyd used the distraction to spring to his feet, launching himself headfirst at the Desian kicking Colette. Angel and half-elf went down in a heap of pained grunts and clattering metal. Lloyd's opponent's head rebounded off the flagstones with a painful crash, one that Lloyd capitalized on by smashing his elbow into the bottom of the man's unguarded chin. The half-elf fell limp, stunned or unconscious. Lloyd climbed stiffly to his feet.

The other Desian was in a similar state on the floor, Chocolat staring down at him in mingled fear and triumph. Her red neckerchief was a limp flag in her right hand. Colette looked fine, so Lloyd focused on the brunette.

"He's unconscious, not dead," he told her. He couldn't tell if she was more fearful or triumphant at that. Her eyes turned slowly towards Lloyd, then Colette.

"Thank you so much!" the man behind her enthused.

"…Thank you," Chocolat echoed quietly.

"Are there any others here?" Lloyd addressed the male prisoner.

"I think the people in the other rooms managed to get away already," he answered.

"Well then, we'll take the captives, just as planned," Raine's voice spoke from behind Colette. Lloyd was almost surprised to notice that the rest of the Group had arrived, probably just in time to see him tackle that Desian barehanded, like the idiot he was. He flushed.

"R-Right. Good luck."

"Come, everyone. This way." The half-elf woman began to herd Chocolat and the other prisoner away. The brunette glanced over her shoulder at Lloyd once or twice, while the angelic boy pointedly stared at a point about two yards to her right. She paused.

"I…"

"If you don't want to be saved by me, just consider yourself rescued by the Chosen," he cut her off, more brusquely than he had intended. Well, whatever. He had good reason, given the circumstances. "Now hurry up and go!"

They went.

Lloyd swallowed, hard, and went, too.

_She's finally safe…_

o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o

"Impressive, Lloyd. Looks like you stopped the mana reactor successfully." Lloyd's exit from the darkness of the Ranch into the bright, winter air was greeted with a sober nod from Regal. He didn't, the angel thought resignedly, have to sound quite so surprised. Lloyd was a liar, but that didn't mean he was stupid. And even if they couldn't trust him, they could trust Colette and Zelos, who had gone with the Aurions to stop the reactor.

The plateau was crowded with prisoners, and Raine was still ushering a few stragglers out the gates. Most were shivering, the winter air cutting through their thin rags cruelly. They huddled in clumps, the gray-brown of their dirty garments and skin blending in with the colors of the dead forest and grass all around.

"Yeah," he aimed a tired smile at Regal. "All that's left is to contact Sheena…"

Something exploded across his back. That was what it felt like, anyway, and judging by the deafening noise, it was probably what had happened. For a little while, there was total stillness. No pain, no noise, no sight, no breath, no movement. Slowly, a red stain crept across the fuzzy darkness, and with it came feeling. Lloyd felt his front pressed into prickly, dead grass. He felt the breath slamming in and out of his lungs. And he felt the searing burn across his back that felt like it was still on fire. Lloyd coughed, regretted it, and writhed a little, regretting that too when his back protested. His clawed hands tore up clumps of grass. He couldn't even begin to remember how to cast First Aid. This was far more painful than his shoulder had ever been.

His hearing faded in gradually, blurrily. He could head the prisoners milling and panicking, and Raine distantly trying to restore order. Closer, he could hear Forcystus's voice. Forcystus… It must have been he who'd attacked Lloyd. Shot him with that arm of his, no doubt.

"…trusted you… Yet in the… us! This… humans can never be trusted!" There was an ominous whirring sound, then a shriek. A female shriek. Lloyd clawed at the ground furiously, his efforts serving only in making him accidentally bite his own tongue. He ignored it. He had to see… Chocolat? Had the Desian shot Chocolat? Presea? Colette? Raine? Who?! The pain wiped out Lloyd's vision once more, but he managed to make it onto his elbows, his head lifting enough to peer blindly through the curtain of his tangled hair.

"You bastard!"

When his vision returned, he saw swirling hues of red. Red hair, pink jacket, red blood. Forcystus falling to the ground, red sheeting over his chin and bubbling over his lips as he gurgled out some last inanity. Red sliding down a long, thin sword, dripping from the tip to the dead grass beneath, as if the plants themselves were dying, too. A swirl and a flick of red as Zelos turned around and tossed his head sharply, scoffing in contempt.

"What kind of lowlife goes for girls and guys whose backs are turned, anyway?" he growled. Blue eyes met curtained brown ones, the scowl instantly erased by concern. "Bud, you okay?"

"Yeah," Lloyd grunted. He wasn't. He looked to the right. Chocolat was hovering nervously between his body and another one. Golden hair was spilled across the ground. Fortunately, the person, Colette, was already stirring. The beam had gone wide, grazing her arm instead of a direct hit. As she rose, Lloyd saw her right hand come up to clutch the neck of her dress to keep it from sliding down. The entire left sleeve had been burned away from the neck all the way down to the cuff at her wrist, which drooped like an oversized bracelet over her hand. But nobody was looking at her dress, or her hand. No, all eyes were fixed on her shoulder and upper arm.

Her shoulder, upper arm, and the lumpy, green-blue crystal that spread down it as if poured there.

"Cole—!" Lloyd began, gritting his teeth and rising to his knees. He spread his singed wings slightly for balance, feeling the charred threads of his shirt crumble right off of him. Colette darted a startled glance at the angel, her eyes widening.

"Lloyd, your chest…!"

He looked down and swayed, feeling about ready to pass out. It wasn't just Colette. With his shirt lying in shreds on the ground, the blue-white crystal twining down his shoulder, upper arm, and across the right side of his chest was clearly visible. His hand immediately rose in a vain attempt to cover it, just as Colette's was doing. Lloyd wanted more than anything to fling himself into the air and fly far, far away from this awful plateau full of staring people—Regeneration Group, prisoners, friends, acquaintances, family—all regarding him with horror. Most of all Zelos, Chocolat, and Kratos.

_They think I'm a freak. They think I'm disgusting. They'll hate me, like Genis. They'll hate me,_ his thoughts were confused.

"Colette, what's…?" Genis stepped forward, half-lifting his hand. Colette flinched away, shaking her head wildly, her voice rising to a shout.

"No… don't look! Don't look at me!"

Lloyd wanted to shout with her, at Zelos and Kratos and Chocolat. _Don't look at me. Don't see me like this. Don't hate me._

As if aware of his thoughts, Kratos tore himself away from the sight (he'd known what Lloyd was concealing, but it was one thing to know and another to actually _see_ it eating away at his son), and turned towards Genis. "Genis! Send the message, quickly!"

"But Colette…" the little mage pleaded.

"The Chosen won't die yet, but if you don't hurry, this world will! Now do it," the Seraph ordered.

"A-All right," Genis nodded shakily. He stumbled over to a small device Raine had been setting up on the grass. It was like two boxes stuck together, with a hollow-throated metal flower sprouting from the junction between them. Genis carefully tapped the symbols on the lower box in the order that Kratos directed him. After a few seconds, he sat back on his heels and wiped the back of his hand over his forehead. He was pale and shaking. "It's done. I did it."

From where they were, they couldn't see the Mana Canon rise from the water, as Kratos told them it was doing at that moment. What they could see, not a minute later, was the beam of blue-white light (as thin as one of Genis's fingers from this distance) that shot across the horizon, spiraling crazily into the clouds before dropping back down. The dark spot of the tree on the skyline exploded into brilliant light with an earsplitting female scream, dissolving into billions of specks of light that floated up and away into the vault of the sky.

"What was that cry?" Genis asked softly, staring up at where the light had disappeared.

"Martel, I would assume," Kratos shrugged, his tone much less assured than usual. "The out-of-control Great Seed is Martel herself."

"I wonder…" the half-elf murmured. A tinny noise from the speaking-flower on the communication device drew his attention down.

"The Great Seed is once again bound in the Holy Ground of Kharlan," Yuan's voice came through, slightly distorted, but perfectly audible. "For that, I owe you my gratitude. Thank you. It seems that you have managed to save the Great Seed as well as this world."

Kratos moved closer. "If the Great Seed is intact, then I presume Martel, who's fused with it, is safe as well?"

There was a long pause, punctuated by a tinny burst that might have been a sigh. "…I'm sure that's good news for you. I wish I could say the same for me."

While this was happening, Genis rose and tentatively approached his distressed friend. "Colette. Things are calm now, so…"

"It's gross, isn't it?" Colette asked, her voice high and hysterical. "It's disgusting, isn't it? It's… It's…"

"N-No! Colette!" Genis stepped forward again, desperate. Colette jerked spasmodically.

"Stay away! Don't look at me!" Her shouted plea trailed off a little at the end, her eyes sliding shut as she swayed. Suddenly, the Chosen of Sylvarant collapsed in a heap on the ground. Genis called her name frantically, while Raine rushed to her side. After a moment, the professor sighed with relief.

"…It's okay. She just fainted. Let's take her back to the village."

"To Iselia?" Genis was equal parts delighted and dubious. "But we… I was banished!"

"Colette's home is in Iselia. Besides, we can't just leave behind the people who were held at the ranch," Raine made a sweeping gesture towards the crowd of ill-attired men and women, who were still shivering and whispering rapidly amongst themselves. It was clear that none had the slightest clue as to what was going on, and were growing impatient to be gone.

"…All right," the half-elf mage finally relented. "Let's… go to Iselia."

"…Then I'll notify Sheena to meet you at Iselia," Yuan's voice spoke up once more. "Farewell for now." The box seemed to shut off, the slight hum of magitechnology cutting off with a truncated whine. Kratos set about dismantling and stowing it away while Raine and Regal took charge of the milling prisoners. While they began to herd the group down the path, Presea slung Colette over her shoulder. Someone put a hand on Lloyd's wing. With a start, he realized that Zelos had been kneeling beside him for some time without his noticing.

"You okay to walk, bud?" the swordsman's voice was soft, careful. Lloyd flinched anyway, his head hanging.

"First Aid," he muttered in reply. The soothing wash reduced his burns to the consistency of a moderate sunburn. Now mentally and emotionally exhausted (not just from the magic), Lloyd managed to struggle to his feet. A bitter blast of wind sent gooseflesh rippling all up his arms. Until, that was, his flesh ended. Lloyd began to shuffle after the distant figure of Genis, who was laughing with (read: in the direction of) Presea. Zelos stepped close behind him.

"Don't ignore me, Lloyd! Was this what Colette meant when she said you had a fungus? Why didn't you tell anybody?!" Just as Lloyd had thought, the Chosen was furious. Lloyd said nothing. What was there to say, really? If Zelos didn't know why Lloyd lied about these things by now, he never would.

"Lloyd!" A strident voice that was not Zelos's spoke up. Lloyd stopped dead in his tracks, more terrified of the short brunette in the yellow dress before him than he'd ever been of any monster. Chocolat stepped forward to throw her arms around Lloyd's torso, burying her face into his chest. Lloyd was shocked. What was she doing…?

"I'm sorry, Vaf! I'm so sorry! I swear, I didn't mean any of it! You're not a monster!"

…Okay. Okay. Lloyd… had no idea how to deal with this. Crying girls on a normal day? Impossible to deal with. Crying girls right now? Lloyd couldn't even _begin_ to understand what was happening.

"Ch-Chocolat, what…?"

"At the ranch, I talked to some of the other prisoners…" the girl sniffed loudly, her voice wobbling. "They told me what you'd done for Grandma. And I thought about it, and… I know you'd never do that! I was just… so upset and angry and… I'm sorry, Vaf. I thought you weren't coming for me…"

Lloyd flinched at that, and finally returned the girl's embrace. "I was. I did. Of course I did, Co. Even if you hate me. You're my little sister…"

"And she was our Grandma. I know. You'd never… I'm sorry. You're not a monster. I don't hate you. Never." Chocolat finally pulled back, scrubbing at her eyes with heels of her hands. It didn't help much, but she seemed to think that a token effort was enough anyway, and stopped quickly. She looked at Lloyd through wide, teary eyes and repeated, "I don't hate you!"

"Chocolat…" was all he could say. What was…? He didn't… Huh? Chocolat didn't hate him? But… then… "I don't understand," he shook his head, almost desperate. "You said…!"

"I was scared! Vaf, you'd just killed two men right in front of me," Chocolat's voice cracked. "I thought… if you forgot who you were again, you might have… But I know you wouldn't! I'm so, so sorry…"

"I-It's…" Lloyd couldn't quite say it was okay. He was too overwhelmed right now. Zelos was still glaring at him, Chocolat was crying and apologizing to _him_, and everyone else was leaving them behind as they trooped back to Iselia.

"Lloyd… What's that on your shoulder…?" the girl's voice was steadier now, strengthened by worry.

"I'd like to know that, too," Zelos finally spoke up. Lloyd avoided both of their eyes.

"…I'll tell you when Colette wakes up," he promised. "It… involves her, too."

"Alright…" Chocolat agreed, still sniffing. Zelos didn't say anything. Together, they caught up with the rest of the Regeneration Group and the former Ranch prisoners. Lloyd did his best to ignore the awkward glances that everyone (even the ex-prisoners) were casting at his chest when they thought he wasn't looking. He looked at the bare, skeletal trees instead. It must have snowed here recently. It was almost like a completely different forest than the one he'd run through on all fours six months earlier.

He didn't know how to deal with Chocolat's odd… forgiveness. He'd expected hate, rejection, pain… But there was none of that. Not from her, anyway. He didn't quite understand. If Chocolat could forgive him for leaving her in prison for nearly six months, not knowing if he was coming to rescue her or not… Could he forgive Kratos? Could Genis forgive him? What about Sheena, and Zelos? Was Chocolat the exception or the rule? How could he possibly know who was wrong?

_Could it be, that all this time…_

…_it was me, after all?_


End file.
